Friend or Foe?
by Reaper-of-Lost-Souls
Summary: A young orphan named Grell Sutcliff is bullied every day since he can remember. What does he do? Runaway of course! Just who will he find outside the secured walls of the shinigami realm? Friend or Foe?
1. The Orphan

Kuroshitsuji © Yana Toboso

OCs © reaper-of-lost-souls

**A/N: This is a little story I decided to start out of the blue. I wanted to write an UndertakerXGrell story, but yet I also wanted to write a story with Grell as a child. I know it's illogical considering the shinigamis in Kuroshitsuji were probably humans and died before they became shinigamis, but I don't care! It's my story and I wanted to write a chibi-Grell =3 Plus I like Undertaker too so he's going to be main character two. You'll just see why later ^^ ENJOY!**

!#$%^&*()

"HEY YOU GIVE IT BACK!" A group of young boys with bright green double-iris eyes pointed and laughed at the boy on the ground, waving a doll high up in the air out of the other boy's reach. "Give it, it's mine! I made it!"

The boys only laughed, tossing the doll between themselves as the shorter, younger boy ran back and forth in the circle they had created as he desperately tried to grab his handmade tan, sewn voodoo doll back in his arms once again. "Hah! Of course a stupid pest like you would make this!" a boy laughed, poking the doll in the cheek and throwing it away from him as if it was a hot potato.

"You're all jerks!" the boy quivered his bottom lip in an attempt to stop the tears, deeming his attempts unsuccessful as hot tears began to fall carelessly down his cheeks and his cheeks slowly turned as red as his hair with great fury.

The boy let out a cry as the older boys pinned him to the ground, one of them holding up a distasteful-looking pair of small safety black scissors in his hands. "This will shut this bug up!" he laughed, grabbing the boy's silky long red hair and beginning to snip the hair in large handfuls. "You weirdo!"

"Freak!"

"Disgusting piece of vermin!"

The rapt boy could only cry as his long red-headed hair fell in clumps around him, trying the best he could to reach for his doll that had been thrown to the side of the turmoil he ended up in. He clutched his fists as the boys cut his hair and continued to beat him up, his eyes going wide as his doll's head was hacked off before he lay unconscious on the ground in a pile of his own blood.

!#$%^&*()

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"And this is our primary classes," a tall man pointed into the classrooms as he showed a quite older and taller man the facilities around the campus. "As you can see, we start the children with the basics: ABSs, 123s, and the basic rules every shinigami must abide by."

"Ah yes I see," the other man nodded, his black gloves intertwined behind his back as he walked gravely down the hallway.

"This is also a vital time in our curriculum," the man continued to explain, "because these young years can make or break a promising shinigami. We weed out the children we deem awful to be shinigamis and those we find whom will have promise, they go to secondary school."

"And what do you do with the children who are 'awful'," the other man asked, pausing as his inferior stopped and looked into a classroom with a chuckle escaping his throat.

"Those children?" he sighed, "Well… their lives are terminated I suppose. I'm not in charge of deciding. That's made by the head director."

The taller man nodded once again, staring into the classroom the other man was directing him towards as he watched the children napping inside. There was one minor that suddenly took his interest, a small eight-year-old looking boy with short red-headed hair and tiny sharp teeth sitting in the corner as he slowly sewed a small doll together. "Who is that lad?" the man pointed as the other looked in before nodding his head.

"Oh Sutcliff? He's one of our **misfits**," he explained.

"How?" the man asked again with sudden interest, keeping a cold eye on the boy as the other man gulped at his question.

"He… well he tends to get into trouble a lot," the other shrugged. "We always find him being picked on by other boys or trying to beat other children up. We are giving him one more year to prove himself before he moves on to secondary school."

"He's sixteen years old?" the man huffed, thinking to himself as he ripped his eyes away from the room. "Looks younger… perhaps fourteen," he thought to himself before turning to the other man and continuing his stroll down the hallway. "Scrawny little lad. Does he have any parents?"

"None sir," the other man explained, now noticing that the other man had continued down the hallway, and he ran after him. "He was given to us when he was a one-year-old babe and we don't know who his parents could have been. He has no siblings and lives in the orphanage, but we know by testing that he is indeed the child of shinigamis."

"I see…" the man continued to think only to himself, the other man letting out a huff once he caught up with the older man.

"Disregarding the boy," the other man said as he tried to change the subject, "will you be speaking to the children this afternoon?"

"I have time," the man explained, "but only for a few minutes. We have a suspicious group of demons tonight and the council wants me to be present."

"Understandable," the other man nodded, "I'll keep this is mind. It will only be for a few moments. Just explain the roles of a shinigami and etcetera. You must know, since you are legendary shinigami."

The man sighed, running a black glove through his long silver colored hair, his black rimmed glasses hiding the true color of his eyes. "You may think this, but you're wrong. I know as much as anyone else around here," he spoke, mostly for himself then for the man standing puzzled next to him. "Let's not doddle," he huffed, continuing to walk down the hallway with his hands behind his back. "I don't have time to waste here."

"Y-yes sir," the other man nodded, chasing after him as they disappeared down the white-covered walls.

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"That is stupid," a little boy scoffed as he rummaged through a box of discarded fabric with a tan lump of a doll clutched tightly in his little hand. "No man would want to come here, not even a _legendary~_. That's stupid to expect the man to like any of this. He's probably forced to come here."

"But I heard the legendary shinigami looked into our classroom and was pointed into the room!" the other boy gasped excitedly, "and he looks like the same man in our books. You know? The shinigami dressed in a long black trench coat with thin-black glasses, long silver hair with a braid on the right side of his face, and a long silver death scythe so old and renowned for reaping souls with only one touch –"

"William you read too much," the other shook his head as he set a big piece of red fabric to the side of the box and continued to look for different colors. "Even if he was here he won't pick us! Maybe you, but not me," he huffed at him. "What's his name? Undertaker? Wouldn't he want a boy who came from a good family like yourself? I don't see why he would care though… he looked as if he was annoyed to be here," the boy huffed again, setting more red fabric to the side and also picking up black, gray, and white from the box.

"You saw him?" William gasped. "Grell why didn't you tell me –"

"It's no big deal," Grell shrugged, keeping his eyes averted from the other boy and kept his gaze on the box in front of him. "He was talking to one of our teachers about something and pointing into the classroom during our naptime. No big deal. I was just wanted to fix up Anna before I added her features," he huffed as he found two large identical green buttons and set then off to the side. "He wasn't very enthusiastic till he pointed to us and a strange smile crept on his face. It was creepy," Grell thought, pausing for a few moments before continuing his search. "That's all. Didn't do anything else –"

"I'm so jealous," William pouted, crossing his arms over his chest before looking over at the colors of fabric Grell had collected as a frown showed on his face. "So… that's going to be Anna?" he asked, easily stirred from his thoughts.

"Duh," Grell shook his head. "Why not? I haven't seen her in years and no one has told me where she'd gone… I wonder if she's still alive."

"That's horrible thing to say about your sister!" William gasped. "Of course she's alive! They would tell you if she died –"

"Probably not," Grell shook his head, correcting him. "They never do… they don't care about me."

"Fine Grell," William sighed as he stood up and began to walk away from him. "I'm going to grab another book to read. Watching you sew that… doll together is getting boring."

"Whatever," he shrugged back, collecting the pieces of fabric he found and running off to the corner of the room.

!#$%^&*()

"… and without further ado," the head director finished, "please give a round of applause for the Undertaker." Everyone clapped excitedly as the dark dressed man stood up and walked up to the podium, Grell shaking his head as William stood up happily with everyone else clapping enthusiastically for the legendary man.

Once everyone sat down Grell puckered his lips, holding up and hand and whispering into William's ear. "He's not **that** great," he huffed as William looked at him wide-eyed.

"What are you insane?" William whispered back as quietly as he could. "He's is legendary. He is **the** Undertaker. What more do you expect? –"

"It's all a bunch of lies," Grell rubbed his nose. "He's probably just some shinigami that the council has put on a pedestal to show off to thick-minded shinigami as a proper man who follows the rules _obediently~_. I don't buy it and Anna wouldn't either. I'm going to go," he finished, trying to stand up as William kept a firm grip on his arm.

"What are you stupid?" William huffed back. "It's disrespectful to leave an assembly –"

"I don't care," Grell stuck out his tongue and roughly pulled his arm away from William. "I'll do as I like and no one will stop me. Tell me how everything goes," he angrily grunted as he walked away from William, not bothering to look back as he moved through the small crowd of children in the back row and escaped out the back door unnoticed. William only shook his head as he looked back to the front, bright, light shinigami green eyes staring in awe at the man speaking into the podium.

!#$%^&*()

Once Grell escaped he let out a tired sigh, clinging to the doll in his hand as he walked outside into the rain. He smiled, looking up to the sky as his clothes began to get soaked in water. "Anna…" he sighed, clutching his doll tightly to his chest as he spun around in the rain, "I wish you were still here. You always loved the rain didn't you?" He skipped around in the mud, not having a care in the world as he got drenched and laughed madly up at the sky.

"No one cares, no one cares," he giggled as he skipped, "about little, little me! No one cares, no one cares, about little, little you! No one cares, no one cares, about little, little spirits! No one cares, no one cares, about little, little souls!"

He continued to skip around in the mud in a crazed daze and sung whatever popped into his head, not noticing the shadows that began to loom over him as deep laughter came from behind him.

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"… and thank you for inviting me to your wonderful academy," the Undertaker finished, giving the crowd a slight bow as he went and sat back down. Everyone clapped for him and he let out a coarse sigh, glad the worst is over.

"Does anyone have questions for Mister Undertaker?" the head director asked the crowd of children, almost all of them raising their hands to get their questions answered. "Yes you over there?" he pointed to the older students in the back.

"What's your real name?" the boy asked, looking over to the Undertaker expecting an answer.

"I don't know anymore," Undertaker said honestly, the boy sitting down with a pout as the director raised an eyebrow at him and shrugged.

"Yes you?" the director pointed to the back again.

"Is reaping souls hard?" another child asked, the Undertaker putting a finger to his chin and pretending to think to himself.

"… Only if you don't know how to reap," he explained, "and that's why you're in school, to learn." The boy frowned and pouted with the answer he gave him. Undertaker didn't care if his answers made sense to their young minds or not; he only wanted to leave as quickly as possible.

"I have a question," a young black-haired boy in the back exclaimed as the other hands were slowly moving down and the other students looked at the Undertaker disappointed.

"Wait till you're called –"

"No let him speak," Undertaker told the head director sternly, ushering the boy to continue.

"Oh ummm…" he coughed, scratching his nose before asking his question. "When we get glasses as full-fledged shinigamis, can we take off the glasses to sleep and eat? What if your nose is itchy? Can we take them off to scratch our nose?"

"What?" the Undertaker chuckled lightly at the boy's question. Everyone in the room, even the head director, stared silently and in awe as the legend laughed at the question. "My lad," he smirked, "I don't see why you would need to take your glasses off to eat, and if you have an itchy nose I think it would be best to scratch your nose instead of thinking about the itch for the rest of the day. Also, wouldn't you think its common sense to take your glasses off when you sleep? You wouldn't want to break them… would you?"

"No sir," the boy nodded as a cracked smile showing up on his face when his question was answered.

"What's your name?" Undertaker decided to ask.

"William T. Spears," the boy explained, sitting back down.

"Well Mr. Spears," the Undertaker nodded back, "that was a very _interesting~_ question."

William smiled at the compliment as he sat happily back down, the Undertaker's smile sweeping off of his face as he turned back to the head director hoping the questions were over. "Now if there's any more questions –" The head director paused, suddenly hearing commotion right outside the doors. "Ummm… excuse me I have to see what's going on," he huffed, passing by the students as quickly as possible and opening the door.

Undertaker raised an eyebrow, the other children turning to the head director as he walked out. "Hey let's see what's going on!" one of the students encouraged the others, everyone running out of the doors the head director had left in. Leaving out the back door Undertaker walked slinky around the group of students that have walked out the doors to investigate, staying in the shadows as he emerged behind the students and looked to the middle of the courtyard.

Grell was thrown to the ground, his doll flying behind him into the mud as a tall boy loomed over him and kicked him in the stomach. Then the boy let out a scream, Grell sinking his sharp teeth in the boy's leg and throwing him to the ground. He jumped on top of the boy and began to punch his face, breaking his nose with two swift punches to the face. "Shut up!" Grell yelled as tears streamed down his face. "Shut up! **You're** the freak! **You're** the vermin! Go away!" throwing one last punch in the boy's face before William grabbed his arms and pulled Grell away, the red-headed boy yelling at William to let him go as the boy's friends helped him up and pulled him to the side.

"What is going on?" the head director huffed, staring Grell down as he glared back.

"He kicked me!" the other boys lied.

"And he bit me! Bit my arm right here!" he huffed as the boy pointed to his arm with imaginary pain.

"Grell Sutcliff, **apologize**," the head director glared at the boy.

"No," Grell growled back. "They're lying! –"

"Grell come on –"

"Can it William," Grell hissed back. "You're always on **their** side." Then he stood up, grabbing his doll off of the ground, "Fine," he huffed glaring at the boys. "I am sorry," Grell grumbled under his breath, causing the boys to chuckle at him, "that you're all a bunch of weak minded boys that doesn't know the difference between a simple bitch slap and an actual punch." He looked up at them, glaring his angry green eyes at them as he spat blood on the ground and wiped the blood and tears from his face. "You can all burn in hell!" he spat in their direction, pushing past the crowd as quickly as he could to get away from anymore punishments.

"Sutcliff, you get back here!" the head director yelled, shaking his head as he let out a tired sigh and ordered the children back to their classrooms. "Bring those children to the nurse, again," he sighed, the teachers helping them along and he rubbed his temples in frustration. "I'm sorry Mister Undertaker," he sighed again as the man walked into the courtyard with his hands behind his back, "but that boy has been nothing **but** trouble since he was brought here –"

"His name is Grell Sutcliff?" Undertaker asked ignoring his apology. "He fights all the time?"

"Every day," the head director sighed, "and sometimes I'm close to my wit's end –"

"I must get going," Undertaker said as he looked at his watch and gave him an empty smile. "You seem to handle everything accordingly so I will give you a good report."

"Oh really?" the head director gasped, "Thank you –" He frowned, watching as the Undertaker stopped talking to him and turned around to exit the school grounds.

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Grell sniffled to himself, huddling in the back of the orphanage next to the garbage cans. He looked down at his doll and wiped the mud away, hugging the doll tightly as he started to sob. He hated living here. He hated it! He hated it! He wanted to crawl in a hole and die!... Wait. He looked up, rubbing his eyes and grumbling to himself. When did he become so weak? It's like what Anna said, 'If you don't like the situation then leave.' Then that's what he'll do, leave! But how?...

He let out a tired sigh, looking up to the night sky as he analyzed the idea to himself. "Hmmmm…" He could run away to the nearest town! Change his outfit so he looked like human boys and make his way a few towns away, but what about protection?... Next door was the secondary school where the student scythes are kept. That's what he'll do! Steal a scythe from the gym, since no one will miss **one**, and make his way into town. Then he could get away without anyone noticing… hopefully. Pouting he looked behind him, rubbing his temples as he thought about a different subject. What if William gets worried? Grell couldn't just leave without saying goodbye, even if he was a pain in his ass, he was his only friend… He'll just go to his classroom and leave him a note in his desk. That's what he'll do!

Jumping up excitedly Grell gathered his things, taking out a ratty old brown bag and stuffing his doll in it. If he couldn't finish his doll here then he would do so somewhere else. Looking around he peeked through the window, noticing the adults were checking off the young orphaned children for the night. He would have to sneak back into line before they got to his name, which was fine since he was close to the end of the alphabet. Once everyone was asleep he would sneak out to never see the horrible orphanage and, even better, the shinigami realm ever again.

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**A/N: Well to start, I'm playing off of the idea of the OVA, where Grell is still bad assed and doesn't take shit from anyone. He had to grow into different personalities/quirks he has, but life lessons do that ^^ And if you've been reading my other story, yeah the ages the children shinigamis/supernatural beings grow up are at different rates. For this story… every two years to a human's one? I guess? It varies as they get older. The older they grow the quicker they age. Since most look to be about 20 or so, at about that point (their graduation age) they stop growing as fast. Perhaps physically growing in age every few decades? Centuries? Whatever. There you go ^^ That's as logical as I can get =O Tell me if I should continue! Should I add things? Not add things? BTW I want to try to keep the OCs at a minimum, but any ideas you may have for little runaway Grell go right ahead and say them now ^^ (I'm currently writing his runaway arc so anything you may want to see should be suggested now)**


	2. The Runaway

Kuroshitsuji © Yana Toboso

OCs © reaper-of-lost-souls

**A/N: Oh wow, I'm starting to get comments already? Fantastic! =D I'm glad you guys like the story (even though I only have two chapters up now) So let me say that there's no real timeframe here and the events may skip day and/or even weeks at a time. I just want to write this story asap instead of taking a lot of time of putting in a bunch of filler blosh in the middle. Not that I'll do that anyways, but there's going to be less (I hope) then in the other Kuroshitsuji story I'm writing. Anyways I hope you guys enjoy this next chapter. ENJOY!**

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Grell sniffled, munching loudly on a piece of bread as the other boys around him ripped apart their share of the food. "My, Grell you're good!" a boy chuckled happily. "What's your secret?"

"The secret is to not take shit from no one and to run as fast as you can," Grell chuckled, sitting down on the edge of the curb as the other boys joined him. "You have to be tough to survive in the streets."

"So why can't we see your eyes?" another boy asked, trying to lift the newsboy cap from his head, which in turn Grell moved his head away and flung his hands at him.

"I don't like showing them off," he huffed at him. "They're only a bother." Grell moved the hat tighter on his head, his red bangs hiding his eyes behind his hat. It's not like they were any different than a shinigamis', but if any of the boys noticed he was different then he may be beat up again, or worse, taken by a demon to be eaten alive. Plus it was better this way. No one asked him questions because they were afraid of being pummeled by him. Even though he was younger and shorter than most, he could take a gang of boys down with a few swings of his fists.

The only thing he couldn't hide would be his red hair and his teeth, but he learned to not smile as much anymore and he couldn't bear dyeing his hair a different color. It was the only red thing he owned: except for his doll and a few extra pieces of fabric. He sighed, continuing to munch loudly on the food as a boy poked him on the shoulder. "S-so… what's in the bag?" he asked.

"Only my necessities," Grell shrugged, refusing to show the boys what lied in the bag. He only brought with him the things he would need to live: the death scythe he stole, extra suit he could sell if he needed to, some food and water that he collected before he left, and of course his doll and sewing kit. He could **never** part with that.

Plus he collected some coins he stole off of a few people throughout the week, noticing how single-minded humans could really be with their items. "W-where do you come from?" another boy asked him, Grell sighing at all the questions his newfound friends were asking him.

"I'm from a few towns over," he lied, "but I don't recall the name… was orphaned when I was a baby and have been on the streets since."

"Oh I understand!" he smiled, giving Grell a quick hug before running off and talking with other boys.

Grell smiled slightly, not used to the friendliness the humans were to him. If he knew he would have an easy time fitting in then he would have left the shinigami realm ages ago. "Hey Grell!" a boy called to him; who would have been a year older than him if it weren't for the fact that Grell had already lived for fifteen years. "We found a place on the outskirts of town. We can sleep there tonight!"

"Great!" Grell called back to him, standing up and brushing the dust from his clothes. He took off running with the other boys, trying to hide the smile slowly creeping on his face as they headed to the edge of the town.

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"W-wha –" William frowned, reading the letter he had found in his history book over and over again. He couldn't believe what he was reading, looking around the room before reading the letter over again:

_Dear Bestest Friend William,_

_I decided to give you a heads up that I'm leaving. No one wants me around and I don't want to stay where I'm not wanted. Don't worry, I'll be fine. No one will notice or care if I disappear. I hope you become a legendary shinigami one day. You deserve that._

_Everyone's Misfit,_

_Grell Sutcliff_

_P.S. Don't tell anyone I left. I don't want to be found._

He sighed, folding up the red construction paper and putting it into his bag. It has been at least a week since Grell had been missing and no one had noticed yet. William scratched his head, wishing the little red-head would have told him he was going to leave so he could talk him out of it. What was he thinking anyways? It was a stupid idea and by now Grell was probably hurt. What worried William the most was if he encountered a demon. It wouldn't be good, those sniveling monsters. He lost his grandparents and his mother to demons and William has heard terrible stories about them. If only William could see him again… he wishes he will soon. William decided that it was best to get back to studying and not worry about Grell anymore, seeing as Grell was never fond of him and he couldn't do anything anyways.

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!#$%^&*()

Grell shivered in the corner of the building, always sleeping by himself away from the other kids. At that moment he was busy sewing up his doll, almost close to finishing her. He smiled, running a hand through the red fabric he sewed on the top as hair. His doll was finally done and he smiled happily, hugging his doll tightly and giving it a kiss on the forehead. If it hadn't been for the bullies taking his doll every day perhaps he would have finished this sooner. It didn't matter now; he finally had his good luck charm done and now he could sleep peacefully for once. Stuffing his doll back in his bag and putting his stuff away, he cuddled his bag close to him as he yawned and tried to get to sleep. He knew the other boys would laugh at him if they found the doll, so the best he could do was hold his bag tightly knowing the doll was inside. "Anna…" he sighed, curling up and running a hand through the doll's hair. "I wish you were still here," he frowned, lulling himself to sleep as he listened to the scary noises of the night.

!#$%^&*()

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"Y-you're really going to leave?" a boy sniffled, Grell rustling up his hair and stealing a few peanuts he had in his hand.

"Yes I am," Grell sighed, "but I won't forget you guys. You're all the best."

"We won't either!" another boy sniffled, refusing to shed tears as he rubbed his eyes. "We… we like red now, right?"

"Right!" the others said at once.

"And you taught us _so much~_! So don't worry about us! We'll be fine," a different boy reassured Grell, handing him a long red ribbon. "This is for you. It was the only piece of red we could find."

"Thank you!" Grell gasped, accepting the gift in his hand and immediately tying back a few loose ends of his hair with it. "You guys are the greatest!" he hugged them, unable to keep up his tough demeanor as he squeezed everyone tightly before letting go with a sigh. "Now I need to go," he told them, "but if I see you guys again we need to hang out."

"Of course," they nodded, waving and sniffling as Grell began his walk down the road and towards the woods. Grell sighed, looking at the ribbon in his hair with a smile before deciding to skip happily down the road. If he was quick enough he will be able to get to the next town by nightfall, the last one he will go through before making his way to London.

The child as he was, by nightfall he was still miles away and started to get lost in the woods. He shivered from the cold, deciding it was best to find a place to rest before making the rest of the way in the morning. Grell climbed as high as he could into a nearby tree, taking out some food he brought with him and began to eat. He had to admit, the night was more beautiful out in the woods where there was no pollution in the air. For some reason he felt a disturbing cold chill go through his backside, unable to shake it off as he continued to shiver and think: perhaps there was something watching him from afar.

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!#$%^&*()

Undertaker sighed, signing forms and setting them off to the side. They were having a demon crisis on their hands and the council wanted him to head the operation. It was about time that he went out on a few missions, see how everyone is doing and make sure the demons were under control. He couldn't help but sigh yet again, bored and starting to get tired with his position as director of the Dispatch Management Division in London. It was time to retire, he decided, but for now he would not be able to pull away from the work till the incident was over.

"Undertaker," a meek voice came from the door, "It's time."

Undertaker nodded and stood up, stretching and cracking his back as he grabbed his trench coat and threw it over his shoulders. "One more job," he told himself as he buttoned up his coat and mesmerized his silver scythe in his hand, walking out his office door and slamming it behind him.

!#$%^&*()

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Grell let out a frightened squeak as a demon lunged at him from a far off tree and slashed his claws at him. Jumping down he pulled out the death scythe, just in time to stop a blow from the demon's talons. "Oh what's this?" the demon hissed. "A young shinigami?" he snickered, licking his lips as he slowly walked closer to the boy, "Aren't you a far ways from home, _young one~_?"

"Back off!" Grell huffed, taking a few steps back as he tried to keep his distance from the demon. "I'll slice you in half!"

"A tough guy I see," the demon chuckled, using its quick speed to stand right in front of Grell as the boy let out a frightened yelp and clumsily slashed his blade at him. Taking Grell's stumbling to his advantage, the demon tripped the boy with his foot, Grell jumping as he slipped, and landing daintily on his feet.

Grell slashed and slashed, trying his best to fend off the demon as it came towards him trying to eat him. If he were older and his powers developed perhaps he could take the demon on, but at this stage his efforts were in vain. Then Grell yelped as another being jumped down from the trees to corner him against the trunk of a tree. "Two?" he gasped startled, the other lunging at him going for his throat.

Evading the demons attacks he was able to keep them away for a few hours, but Grell was getting exhausted as time went on. He had never had to fight for so long before, but honestly he was feeling an internal energy rush that he never felt before. Letting out a yell he finally sank the scythe into one of the demon's chest, the demon shrieking as Grell quickly pulled it out and kicked him to the side. That action infuriated his comrade, the demon decided to end everything once and for all and lunged at Grell with its claws raised high and wide. He jumped back, but was not fast enough as a claw slashed across his upper arm, causing Grell to stagger backwards and hold his hand to his arm in pain. "This ends here runt," the demon huffed, clawing at Grell with one last assault to finish the soul and get his snack of shinigami food.

Just then a long silver line blurred in front of him, Grell flinching back and expecting a blow to his face. Pausing he looked up, his jaw practically falling out of his mouth as he held back as gasp. "Don't you know that there's food somewhere else," the man huffed, holding his long silver scythe at the demon's neck and causing him to back away startle.

"W-wait! –"

The demon screamed, being silenced as the blade slashed through his neck and separated his head from his body. Grell gulped, taking a few steps back as the shinigami turned around and glared down at him. "Oh my lad," the shinigami began, noticing the unique short, bright and messy red hair, "What is a young shinigami boy, like you, doing here?"

Grell snarled, jumping away from him and holding up his scythe in defense. "Stay away!" he yelled at him, suddenly clutching his arm as his side continued to bleed out crimson gunge.

"Come now," the man sighed, "this isn't the way a shinigami should be acting. If we don't treat your wounds then you will get an infection. Do you want that? _Hmmmm~?_"

"I-I'm not going back there," Grell hissed as he continued to back away, "and you can't make me!" He yelled, running as fast as he could in a random direction in a desperate attempt to distance himself away from the shinigami that found him.

Undertaker blinked, a chuckle escaping his lips as the boy ran off. "My, my," he chuckled, "what a stubborn little boy you are –"

"Mr. Undertaker!" another shinigami jumped down, running to him and stopping Undertaker from any attempts of chasing after the boy. "There are several demons in a nearby town going into the humans' houses and devouring –"

"Yeah fine," he sighed, swinging his scythe over his shoulder and leaving the two dead bodies on the ground. Undertaker looked back hesitantly, debating if he should chase after the boy or not. "Hmmmm… I'll come back," he told himself as he giggled under his breath, "that boy won't get far with an injury that severe." Then he took off into the sky, Grell looking behind him as he ran and continued to run through the woods till he was out of breath and his legs wouldn't carry him any farther.

)(*&^%$#!

Grell winced, taking off his jacket and then his shirt to get to the wound on his arm. He held up his arm and watched cautiously as a boy beside him slowly wrapped his wound, wincing every once in a while as the pain became too unbearable. "I-I'm sorry for being a pest," he sighed, "since I only just met you –"

"Hey don't worry about it kid," the other boy chuckled as he continued to wrap Grell's arm. "You're lucky we found you when we did. A wolf would have gotten to you if you stayed out on the road for a few minutes longer."

"Thank god," Grell nodded in approval, "but still… I am grateful."

"Of course," he nodded back, tying off the cloth and letting Grell rest his arm to his side. "Hey stay here for the rest of the night. It's just me and my little sister, but you're welcome to travel with us tomorrow when we walk to London."

"Well I," Grell chuckled nervously, "I-I don't want to be rude –"

"Not at all," the boy huffed. "Just don't mess with my sister. She's the only person I have." Grell nodded in understanding as the boy sighed while he cleaned up the stuff he used to temporary fix Grell's arm. "I never saw a scratch like that," the boy shuddered. "Were you mauled by a giant bird or something?"

"You could say that," Grell shrugged as he laid his stuff carefully to the side as he sat back and laid down to sleep, "but I think I'll be fine. Nothing like a good night's rest to fix a problem, right?" he chuckled.

"Well alright," the other boy yawned, laying next to his sister and flop his arm over her side. "Good night mister."

"Good night," Grell responded, letting out a tired yawn as he closed his eyes and began to dream.

)(*&^%$#!

"_Hey back off!" a young girl with long, bright red hair huffed, throwing punches left and right at the boys. They yelped in fear, keeping true to the word that boys should never hit a girl, and if one did come at her she gave them more of a beating then they could imagine. Eventually the little girl sighed, walking over to the discarded doll on the ground and brushed the dirt off of it. "U-ummmm… are you okay?" she asked quietly, kneeling down next to the beaten and battered down boy with a bright smile on her face._

_The smaller boy sniffled, looking up at shock and rubbing his tears away. He quickly took the doll from her hands, cradling the doll as if it were a babe before looking up at her. "I was perfectly fine," he huffed at her, glaring his green eyes at her and grumbling under his breath._

"_Oh yeah?" the older one of the two huffed, "You looked well **indeed~**" The boy narrowed his eyes at her sarcasm, but flinched away as she held her hand out to him with a smile. "I-I'm sorry. I'm a little new," she chuckled nervously and scratched the back of her head, "but I was never one to like taking shit from anyone. My name is Anna Sutcliff. Who are you?"_

"_G-grell," he pouted, looking up at the girl. "J-just Grell…"_

"_Just Grell?" she frowned. "Not even a last name?" He shook his head, looking down at his doll in shame and keeping away from her gaze. She cracked a smile, "**I'll** be your kin!" she giggled happily._

"_W-wha –"_

"_You don't seem to have anyone here to protect you, so **I** will," Anna huffed. "And just between you and me," she whispered, "I always wanted a little brother. I was hoping you could be… that? Please, pleeeeeease?"_

_Grell continued to look away, gently swinging his sides back and forth as he thought. Who is this girl? Popping out of the blue and saving him. He didn't like this idea, but he honestly didn't have any choice. If he gets beaten up a few more times he may end up in the infirmary, or worse, a local cemetery. "O-okay," he whispered silently to himself._

"_What Grell?" Anna asked, tilting her head to the side unable to hear his response._

"_Yes," Grell said a little louder, "b-but why? What's your game?"_

"_My **game**?" Anna raised an eyebrow before letting out a huff and turning her head away as if she was insulted. "I have no game. I've never been on my own… t-that's all."_

"_Oh," he thought to himself, giving her a slight smile. "You won't mind that I get beaten up every day because of my doll and my teeth and my hair and how I look and how I act? –"_

"_Nope, not at all," Anna beamed happily. "In fact I like it! You're hair is so close to mine it's pretty funny! Your sharp teeth are so cool and I wish I had teeth like that. I'd go out to the ocean and pretend to be a shark," she giggled._

"_A-an ocean? Shark?" Grell tilted his head to the side, confused by her words._

"_Oh… Well I'll tell you more later," she shrugged before giving him a sweet smile. "Now your doll, that's cool too! I've always wanted a doll of my own, but my mama wouldn't let me."_

"_Hmmm…" Grell thought to himself, running a hand through the stitching that was coming undone at the top. "A-actually I made this myself, b-but it's not that hard. The hard part is trying to figure out what this doll with look like when I'm done."_

"_Ah," Anna nodded, suddenly hearing a faint whistle from inside of the orphanage._

_Grell frowned, looking down at his doll and making sure everything was intact before grabbing her hand and pulling her inside. "Come on big sister," he mumbled quietly, "they don't like us to be late." Anna decided to not argue with the boy as he took her away, the older girl giving him a gentle squeeze on his hand as if to say 'Not to worry. We'll be just fine.'_

)(*&^%$#!

!#$%^&*()

He was woken up by a little girl staring at him with bright hazel eyes, Grell flinching away in fright as he quickly hid his eyes and his bare chest from her. The girl giggled, skipping over to the other boy, who was sound asleep, and poked him in the cheek. "Who is he? Who is he?" she asked happily, the boy groaning as he slowly woke up and looked over at Grell.

"Why don't you ask him?" her brother mumbled to himself, the girl skipping back over to Grell and grinning gleefully at him.

"What's your name?" she asked quietly as to not disturb her brother.

"G-grell miss," he told her, hiding everything from view except for his messy hair.

"Cool!" she smiled happily. "My name Essie." Grell nodded, the girl creeping closer to his face and pulling off the sheets away from him. Grell yelped, trying to cover himself again so he didn't show off his injury and frighten her. "You have pretty eyes," Essie smiled at him, Grell looking at her wide-eyed as he slowly put the sheets down. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, seeing as he couldn't hide his eyes from them any longer.

"Hey kid," the boy huffed, throwing Grell a piece of bread as he ripped the rest for himself and his sister. Grell took the bread in his hands and nibbled on it, eyeing them suspiciously as the boy looked at him distrustfully. "… Grell I go by the name David," he explained, "and this is my little sister Ester –"

"But I like Essie," she giggled.

"Yes we _all~_ know," David sighed as he shook his head. "My offer still stands," he glared at him sternly. "You can still travel with us if you'd like. If not then you can go. It's up to you –"

"Aw I don't want you to go!" Essie pouted as she swung her brother's arm around. "You're cool! Your hair is so bright and your teeth so pointy. Why do your eyes look like that –"

"Let's not bother to boy Essie," David shook his head again, giving his sister a smile as he rustled up her hair and began to collect their items they had been using that night.

"Well if it's not too much," Grell shrugged, "I'll come with you. I was planning on making my way to London anyways so some company will be fine, but I insist I help you." He told them as he began to imitate David and roll up the blanket the boy had him sleep in, "I don't want to burden you."

"That's fine by me," David huffed, Essie looking at the two of them before pouting.

"You two need to be happy!" she giggled, grabbing Grell's hand and swinging it around. "No pouting! It's mean," she huffed, then walking over to David and poking in his shoulder. David shook his head again and tried to ignore her, wanting to get back on the road before the day started to get hot.

!#$%^&*()

**A/N: So before you ask let me throw a few things out there: First off I'm portraying little-Grell who had a hard life from the start. His 'friend' William is the only person who talks to him, but William tries to not reveal his feelings (oh big surprise huh? XD) The difference between the two is William is growing up in a home where Grell is not. Perhaps William has siblings perhaps not (I haven't really decided on that), but either way his situation started off better than Grell's. So you could say he's more… innocent? Naïve? Sees the world through children's eyes instead of Grell who seems to see the world for what it is. Anyways go ahead and argue about the topic with me. I don't know what I'll do with William now =O Perhaps it'll have hints of a GrellxWilliam? I don't know… once again talk to me. I like getting ideas =D **

**Okay, and secondly the flashbacks (_obviously indented since it doesn't actually fit completely into the basic storyline_). If you stand back and only read those parts (which will be posted throughout the chapters), they will go in a chronological order. I wrote them out before I started on this next chapter (three) so they make sense once everything is posted. Some will be posted, but then I'll stop so I can write more of the actual story ^^ It's just a way for me to show Grell's past without having him explain everything. I think it'll be easier that way =3 Oh and Undertaker. Almost forgot about him XD So what do you think of him? Honestly, I would think he would be bored with his job by now. That's why he's letting a little runaway run around instead of pulling him back to the shinigami realm. I think he'd do that… for fun XD And with the OCs, once again I'm not trying to write a lot in. the only orphans you'll hear about will be David and Essie, but there are more implied so keep that in mind. OKAY THAT'S IT! I hope you've enjoyed this chapter! =3**

David – Hebrew – beloved

Esther – Persian – star


	3. The City

Kuroshitsuji © Yana Toboso

OCs © reaper-of-lost-souls

**A/N: WOOT! Now Grell makes his way to London and comes across even more orphans and neglected children (oh and by the way I have no clue where the shinigami realm IS. He's just wandering to London and… yeah there you go ^^). What now? =O Hopefully he'll find something to do soon enough. And thank you for your comments guys. Very appreciated! =D**

!#$%^&*()

"I don't think that's safe," David huff, watching as Grell made his way to the top of a tree and sat down on a large, stable branch.

"Maybe," Grell answered him as he put the apples in his bag, "but even if it's not safe we won't get good food if we can't take a few risks." David shook his head as Essie stood close to the tree staring up at Grell, amazed as he skillfully climbed down as if he had been climbing trees all his life.

Once he jumped down Grell handed her an apple, David snatching it from her before she could eat it. "Let me try it first," David glared at him, Grell giving him a cold stare back as he tried the fruit. Slowly biting into the fruit David paused, looking down at the apple before taking another munch out of it.

"C-can I have one?" Essie asked again, her stomach grumbling as she watched her brother chew.

"Yes give her one," he sighed, Essie cheering happily as she greedily took the apple from Grell's hand as he handed it to her.

She munched on it gleefully, her eyes widening with astonishment as she continued to eat the apple. "Wow Grell!" Essie gasped, "This is good!"

"The food that is the highest and hardest to capture is always the tastiest in the end," Grell told her, eating an apple and deciding to save the other food he had gathered for later. "I know how to make a good apple pie if we can gather some sugar, wheat, and a working oven. Maybe I can make some for you guys once we make our way into the city."

"Yeah!" Essie cheered, delighted to be promised sweets in the near future. "You hear big brother?" she giggled happily, "Grell is going to make sweets for us. Like mommy used to! –"

"Yes I heard him," David shook his head, narrowing his eyes at Grell as he threw the apple behind and gathered the things he had on the ground. "Well Essie finish up. If we don't continue now then we won't end up in London till nightfall." She nodded at him with understanding, stuffing the rest of her apple in her mouth and throwing the core aside as she began to follow to two older boys contently.

Grell was hauling most of their supplies, giving David and Essie a chance to rest their arms from the bags they were forced to carry between the two of them. Essie stood towards the back with Grell, helping him along as he tried to not show the pain he was feeling because he was being treated as their pack mule. He may be a shinigami, but he was still only a child and not very strong yet. "So Grell," she smiled, "what else do you know?" she decided to ask.

"Well…" Grell thought to himself, "I know how to cook, sew, and make just about anything. I can also fight, so you don't have to worry if something comes after us... I can also read and write."

"Read and write. So do I!" she giggled happily. "Mommy and daddy taught me, but I only know how to read and write in French. They died before they could teach me more."

"Oh," Grell nodded, "I'm sorry to hear that."

"C'est bon," she chuckled happily. "Do **you** know French Grell?"

"Only a little," he shrugged. "Just something I picked up from a friend I used to know."

"Cool!" Essie cheered. "I will teach you on the way."

"Okay," Grell nodded; bored out of his mind so learning a new language for a while wouldn't be too much trouble.

David looked behind himself and shook his head, shifting the pack he had on his back before snuffing at them. "Don't get annoying Essie," he sighed.

"Je ne vais pas _le fr__è__re~_" she smirked at him, turning her attention back to Grell as he gave her a slight smile to usher her to continue.

!#$%^&*()

"Okay, okay, stop please!" David yelled behind them, Essie letting out a frightful squeak as Grell shook his head.

"You should be nicer to your sœur," Grell told him. "You never know when votre famille will be stripped away from you –"

"Hmmmmm…" David looked behind him, letting out another huff as he kept his back to him. "You lost your family too Grell?"

"You could say that," Grell answered. "I was orphaned when I was one. I don't know if anyone of my family is living, so I've just decided to not think about it."

"_Poor Grell~_" Essie pouted. "Hey I know!" she realized, "We can be your family. Your famille!"

"Only if David wants that," Grell explained, rushing past David and looking upon the city as they started walking down a hill. "Now, from what you've told me, you don't know your way around the streets," he explained, "so I'll show you –"

"We can handle ourselves," David huffed. "Just don't get in our way. Come Essie," he said, continuing to lead them as they ventured deep into the city of London.

!#$%^&*()

"Hey it's Grell!" a boy called to them, waving the trio over to a small can fire the poor children had made to keep themselves warm. "This is the guy I was talking about," he pointed to the prodigy, Grell chuckling as he shifted the bags on his back and shook his head.

"I'm not a big deal," Grell told them, David keeping a protective grip around Essie's shoulder to make sure she was remaining by his side. "This is some orphans I've come across," he explained to the group as David and Essie came closer, "along the road. This is –"

"I am David and this is Essie," David interrupted him. "Our family is gone so we've had to leave our town since no one wants us around. We heard that London would be the place to find work –"

"Well good luck with that," a boy huffed. "The only work you can find around here for misfits like us is the_ 'dirty jobs'_. If you're not careful you could lose a finger in a machine or a toe. That's not fun."

"Maybe we should take our business elsewhere –"

"No do stay!" another boy called to them. "You may get killed. There is talk about monsters running around the city. A few of us have gotten snatched up already and who knows what will happen to you if you leave with only the two of you."

"It's a good thing you had Grell with you," a girl smiled. "He saved us in Harlow with nothing but a stick and a small, sharp sickle –"

"It's a death scythe," Grell told them honestly, "but it's not a big deal –"

"Yes it is!" she huffed. "We would have all died if it weren't for you!"

"Anyways," a boy rolled his eyes, "you are welcome to stay. We don't have a lot of belongings, but we will show you to an abandoned building most of us are living in. I suggest you sell most of the stuff you have there. Someone may steal your valuables when you're not looking."

"Thank you," David nodded, following the boy as they continued down the road.

"Oh and Grell," the boy said, turning his head and giving him a smile, "thank you."

"What for?" Grell raised an eyebrow.

"You're seriously the greatest. It's nice to see that you've ended up here too," he smiled, turning back around and skipping down the road.

"I-I didn't know you were popular," Essie whispered to Grell, David raising an eyebrow wondering what his sister had said.

"I didn't know either," Grell admitted to her, "but I think it's cool. Don't you think?" he grinned at her for a split second showing off his teeth, causing Essie to giggle at him as he chuckled before his face went back to a neutral demeanor. He shifted his arm in pain, remembering the other night with the demon. Should he have gone back with that shinigami? No, he shook his head. He had made his decision to be a runaway and a runaway he will stay. Besides he was starting to have fun. He had never felt so accepted in his life. Maybe it wasn't him; it was the shinigamis and their various rules.

!#$%^&*()

)(*&^%$#!

_Grell felt depressed. The new girl that came to the orphanage had gotten friends immediately, unlike Grell who couldn't find anyone who would like him and call him a friend. She slept in a different portion of the orphanage, the girls being separated from the boys and causing Grell to be beaten up every day just before he would go to bed. School wasn't any better. She was indeed **much** older than him and was taking schooling in the secondary school, cutting Grell off from her and causing him to also be beaten up throughout the day. _

_But all these things weren't why Grell was sad._

_Perhaps it was jealously or maybe adoration, but the boy didn't know what that meant. Grell was jealous of Anna: for her popularity, her many friends, the fact she is nice, and could challenge anyone who was against her with determination in her eyes. Though there were times when she was completely wrong, she still didn't give up and back down. And yet, she took the time to find Grell every morning before school and every afternoon after school to bring him safely to and from the orphanage and talk to him. Honestly Anna would do most of the talking, but Grell was still glad with the company she was giving him. There was a question that was plaguing him for weeks now, hesitant if he should ask the question or leave the idea alone._

"_A-anna," he gulped, the girl looking down at him as he began to speak. She smiled, glad that Grell was starting to open up to her after so many weeks of knowing him. "W-why… ummm…" he thought silently to himself for a moment, "Why do you help me? Why hang out with me? I am no good, I'm trash. There is no reason for a pretty young girl like you to come to my rescue every day. So why?"_

"_W-well I –" Anna pouted, not exactly sure how she should answer him. She let out a deep sigh, collecting herself as she scratched the bottom of her nose. "I-I… I was scared," she huffed, "a-and I've never been completely on my own before. When the adults made me run off to play I saw you getting beaten up by those bullies. I never fought in my life, but for some reason I felt like I needed to." She looked away, putting her hands to her side and began to swing back and forth uncomfortably while she walked. "C-can I be honest with you Grell?" He gave her a simple nod and looked up at her with curiously, her eyes beaming as she decided his nod meant yes. "You may think I lived a good life when I came here, but honestly I never have. My mama would beat me when she was drunk and my papa had died when I was young. Sometimes I would have to go to the pub next to my house to find her, finding her passed out or flirting with some sleazy pig for money by 'whatever means necessary.' So one day she beat me more then she should have," she sighed, her voice slowly catching in her throat as she continued, "and I was bleeding out on the floor. Mama thought she killed me and threw me into a ravine, cursing under her breath about not being able to keep her children and they were better off without her. When I woke up I stumbled back to school, being sent to the infirmary and fixed up before they sent me home. You know what happened Grell?"_

"_W-what?" he asked, clutching his doll to his chest scared of what she might tell him. _

"_I learned that she –" she stopped, biting down on her lip and letting out a big huff. "She… to make the story short she killed herself," Anna explained, deciding it was best to keep the details from him. "So the adults brought me here and that's why I came here. Now Grell," she puffed out her chest, glaring at him sternly with all the seriousness she could muster, "I never told anyone this before. I never told my friends and especially not the adults. Could you promise me that you… you won't tell anyone?" She couldn't believe this, she told someone about what happened. Anna didn't know why, but she felt that he was a shinigami that she could trust, especially since she wanted to get the deep, dark secret off of her chest before she would explode._

_Grell slowly nodded, deep sorrow in his eyes, but he gave her a comforting smile and gripped her hand tightly. "I won't tell," he told her, giving her a comforting squeeze and causing her to smile at him happily. He smiled back, glad that this person had told him a dark part of their past. Perhaps they weren't different, and maybe that's why he felt comfortable with her and continued to hope she wouldn't leave him alone… alone again._

)(*&^%$#!

!#$%^&*()

Grell hummed to himself, tending the fire with a few other boys as other children slept around them. It was a sad thing to see so many as himself orphaned, or had parents but no one to actually care for them. He had to admit he felt sorry for them, Anna coming to his mind as he thought about it. "G-grell?" Essie called to him, tugging on his shoulder as he looked down and gave her a cracked smile.

"Yes?" he answered, letting the girl crawl up on his lap and stare at the fire.

Essie suddenly turned around and clutched him, worried that Grell would disappear as she fought back tears. "Grell j'ai peur," she mumbled into his chest and clutched his clothes tightly. "I-I never told David, but I saw them die," she sniffled, "and I don't want to die. Not yet. Not alone –"

"Death isn't lonely," Grell explained, Essie looking up at him wide-eyed as he tried to explain. "Ummm…" he chuckled, scratching the back of his head as he tried to continue his talk to her. "I like to think of dying as a hand reaching out to you to carrying you away. You leave this world, a filthy world full of rotten people and disgusting places to end up somewhere happy and beautiful. You see loved ones you had lost and other people as good as yourself, and you never have to worry. You're free to do what you want and whatever you want, and no one can tell you otherwise. So really, death is very inviting in my opinion. You usher spirits away… even if they're fighting against you, they want to go… let go of pain and suffering and all that."

"W-wow," Essie gasped, staring up at him with her hazel eyes sparkling happily. "You're _sooo~_ smart."

"I suppose," Grell shrugged, "but I'm only smart with things I like, not ideas and rules I dislike."

"… What's your favorite color?" she tilted her head.

"Color?" Grell blinked for a few moments before shrugging. "Red. Crimson red to be exact."

"Never would have guessed," she giggled, resting her head on his chest and letting out a yawn. "Will… will you let me sleep on your chest Grell?"

"Sure," he told her, letting the little girl fall asleep in his arms as he let out a tired sigh. He had never explained death to someone before, but it was an eye opener to his own belief on the subject. It's not like he hates death, hates the idea of reapers, but didn't like the people involved. Everyone was strict, rude, and mean. No one was happy and joyful, which is why he couldn't smile as much as he'd like.

Grell smiled to himself, running a hand through her light brunette hair. Perhaps it was time for him to reconsider his attitude, change it a little. For now he'll keep himself as he was, but one day he wished to be as happy and gleeful as Essie is – "My, my, what a brilliant speech," he heard clapping from behind him, Grell turning his head before his eyes went wide at the man standing before him. Grell gulped, leaning down for his bag to grab the death scythe he was going to use to chase him away. "Don't worry. I'm not going to take you back," the man sighed as he crossed his arms over his chest with his scythe leaning in his arms. "I'm only here because of a few of the children over there."

Grell looked behind him and looked at the sleeping children the shinigami pointed to, noticing that several of their souls had left their bodies and they were no longer breathing. "T-that's… is that all?" he huffed, keeping a tight grip on Essie and scooting away hoping she wasn't next.

"I was only overhearing your explanation of death to that human," he told him. "Do you truly believe that's how death is; what a shinigami is: a guide for the souls to the afterlife?" Grell bobbed his head a little, the man grinning happily in amusement for the first time in a long while. "Good," he chuckled, "I was worried that school wasn't teaching children anything –"

"I learned it on my own sir," Grell answered him honestly. "That's what I **hope** we do… did… but if we don't then perhaps it was the best decision for me to leave. I don't want to be a monster that takes souls like a demon. I want to know, if I am a shinigami, that the soul is going somewhere better then here. If not, then there is no point. The demons need souls more than us, so I just hope that's what we're all about." He sighed, looking down at Essie and running a finger through her hair.

"I guess it's by individual experiences," the man nodded in understanding, looking over at the human girl with a look of sympathy on his features. "What's your plan?" he asked the young runaway. "Will you come back or continuing running? No one knows your gone boy… except for me. So you don't have to worry about anyone trying to find you –"

"I want to stay here," Grell told him, "because humans understand me better. I don't want to go back… no one likes me and I'm not wanted. Please leave me alone sir. I just want to be left alone."

The man sighed, running a glove though his silver hair in deep thought. "I guess I can't force you," he chuckled lightly, "but there's a few of things you should know."

"What?" Grell grumbled roughly at him.

"There are demons roaming the country," he explained, "so be prepared. They will be after you, since you smell of a better meal then a mere human soul. Also, one last thing –"

"And what is that?" Grell huffed, keeping his back turned to him.

"Grell Sutcliff be careful," the shinigami whispered into his ear, causing the boy to shiver with fear. "I am forgiving, but other shinigamis are not. If they find you they won't hesitate to bring you back and eventually kill you. You understand my warning?"

"Y-yes sir," Grell pouted, turning his head around and glaring at the man, "but who are you?"

"Undertaker," he giggled, Grell's eyes widening as the shinigami waved to him and suddenly disappeared into the shadows.

Grell gulped deeply, realizing that he was talking to a legendary shinigami. The man William wouldn't shut up about! Now he wondered: why wasn't he bringing him in? This must be a sign that he must stay in the human realm, he decided, and keep everyone safe. If that man was right about the demons then he would be killed too, so Grell will have to take extra precautions and figure out how to take care of everyone. "Don't worry Essie," he talked to the girl sleeping on him, mostly to himself as a reassurance, "I'll keep your brother and you safe. You can count on me."

!#$%^&*()

**A/N: Grell's popular isn't he? =3 If you have any ideas for the little runaway then go ahead and say them. I'm almost done writing to the end of this arc and if I don't get any more ideas then I'll just move on (heh. I said arc. That must have made you freak out hmmm? X3) TILL NEXT TIME!**

_C'est bon_ – French – _It's okay _

_Je ne vais pas__le frère_ – French – _I won't brother _

_sœur_ – French – _sister_

_votre famille _– French – _your family _

_Grell__j'ai peur _– French – _Grell I'm scared_


	4. The Rundown Building

Kuroshitsuji © Yana Toboso

OCs © reaper-of-lost-souls

**A/N: Hey guys. I decided to review another chapter so TADA! Now we further glimpse into our little runaway Grell and his new-found life. And I think this will be the last flashback for a while. Just to keep that in mind ^^ Enjoy!**

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"Hey Grell what's that?" Essie giggled, skipping over to him and kicking up dust as she jumped down to the ground to sit next to him.

"I am just cooking," he explained as he stirred a pot. "It's a light broth, but I added apples to make it sweeter. What to try?"

Essie nodded and gladly took the spoon full of water, slurping it down slowly and smacking her lips together. "Oh yum!" she licked her lips, "So good! You're a good cook!"

"Thank you," Grell nodded, taking a cup full of the soup and pouring them out for each other. "Go ahead and tell anyone who's still here that they can have some." Essie took her bowl and ran off; calling other children around the area that Grell had made soup for them.

After she was done Essie sighed, rubbing her tired eyes and drinking the broth. "David is out working again," she sighed, "and I'm sad."

"Why?" Grell asked as he drank down his meal.

"He doesn't talk to me anymore," Essie huffed, "and he's getting _**mean~**_"

"Well…" Grell scratched his nose and thought to himself, "Maybe he's acting harsh to protect you. He must be working hard to get money for you two to live. It's tough."

"I know," Essie sighed, "but I just want my fun, loving brother back."

"Hey don't worry about it," Grell reassured her, "David will be back to way he was before you know it. Just have to give it some time for everything to get back to normal. You'll see. You'll be okay."

"O-okay," she nodded, setting her bowl down and plopping her head on his shoulder. "Merci Grell."

"You're welcome Essie," he chuckled back, running a comforting hand through the girl's hair before giving her a reassuring squeeze on the hand. Then he sighed, closing his eyes for the first time in days to take a quick nap. If it hadn't been for the pain still in his arm he would be fine, but for now Grell would have to take it easy. Everyone knew he had to take it easy, which was why he wasn't looking for work yet. Luckily everyone was nice and gave him food and drink when they had extras. He was only worried about the demons; the shinigami man said that they would be taking souls. Like a shepherd to his sheep or a mother hen to her chicks Grell was going to keep watch day in and day out, making sure everyone was safe in the comforts of their own beds and their souls not taken by a greedy demon. It wasn't a promise he told anyone, but his own little promise since everyone was nice to him here. As they said, 'We only have each other,' and they had to look out for each other as if they were kin.

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"How was work David?" Grell asked, Essie jumping over to the two boys and gripping David's arm in a vise gripping hug.

"Tiresome," he sighed, "and it's ridiculous! What am I working, twelve hours for a few measly coins? There's not enough for Essie and I to get by."

"Perhaps not in pampered luxury," Grell explained, "but at least to live. You have enough money for food, and even if you don't you can always steal –"

"I **don't** steal," David huffed sternly, "and I hope you're not teaching Essie to be a thief while I've been away working."

"Nope," Grell shook his head, "I haven't been able to leave since my injury."

"Oh…" David settled down, Essie running away from them to get back to the game the other children had begun to play on the other side of the building. "So… how have you been? How's Essie?"

"She's been fine," Grell explained as he continued to mix ingredients into a big boiling pot. "Essie is happy to be around other children and they are happy to have her around, but she's starting a horrible nickname for me," he shuddered.

"What would that be?" David decided to ask, looking into the pot waiting for the food to be ready.

"_**Mother Hen~**_" Grell shuddered, "from the nursery rhyme –"

"Really?" David began to laugh hysterically, Grell pouting at him and punching him roughly in the arm.

"It's not funny!" he huffed. "I'm not a woman anyways… there's no reason to be called **mommy**."

"Well I can see why," David chuckled. "She was really close to our mother and I guess, in Essie's own little way, she's trying to replace her with you. Plus she _always~_ loved the story of the Mother Hen."

"Oh…" Grell sighed shaking his head, "Well I'm going to get laughed at now."

"How about I tell her to only call you that when we're alone?" David afforded.

"That would be **great**," Grell nodded and looked down at the pot. "… I'm sorry I can't go out and work yet. My arm is still in pain."

"Is the scratch marks still there?" David asked with a frown.

"Yeah," Grell sighed, "and it's weird because I can usually heal quicker than this…"

"… You never told me what you were attacked by," David responded.

"Oh?" he shrugged. "I don't know… a bird I suppose. A **large** bird. My arm still bleeds at times, but nothing a little ointment and bandages can't fix," he explained. "I just can't get it myself –"

"I brought some supplies for you," David told him, setting a bag of medical equipment and food on the ground next to them. "It's not much, but I was able to pay for some and the other stuff I was able to get for free."

"Great," Grell smiled, taking off his jacket and shirt to get to the ratty piece of cloth around his arm.

David took Grell's arm and began to take off the bandages, wincing at the puffy green and blue goop that had puffed over his scabs. "This looks pretty bad," he frowned as he began to clean the wound. Grell winced, the pain from a small bottle of vodka stinging his arm. "Maybe we shouldn't have waited so long to fix you up –"

"Don't worry about that," Grell told him. "I would rather lose a limb then have you and Essie go one day without eating. I was careless anyways. Once my scabs close up I'll probably recover quickly."

David nodded, looking up at Grell as he continued to clean his wound and bandage them together with random ripped up pieces of cloth and medical bandages. "Ummm… I never got to thank you for taking care of Essie while I'm away –"

"Pas de quoi," Grell chuckled lightly once his arm went limp from the numbing pain in his arm. "It's no trouble really. We all take care of each other David. All of us have our pasts, but we are here living in the here and now. If one of us goes down then a multitude will follow right after. I don't know what happened to you and Essie, nor do I want to know, but we have to take care of each other. Be our own big family, you know?" he smiled.

David smiled back, looking at his sharp teeth before looking under his bangs where he knew bright green eyes were sparkling joyfully back at him. "W-well anyway, merci," he coughed tying off Grell's bandage and standing up. "Do you need help?"

"I can handle this," Grell explained. "Just go over to Essie and play with her. She's been complaining about her big brother not playing with her and being _mean~_ ever since he started working."

"Oh..." David coughed lightly to himself. "W-well… I'll get going," he said running off to Essie and where the other children were playing. Grell let out a tired sigh, slipping his coat back on, but leaving his shirt to the side. Even if he was sitting around all day he was tired, watching over everyone and keeping alert every night. It was only a matter of time till someone gets snatched by another demon, and when that happens Grell wanted to be ready to fend them off.

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Grell was the only one up that night, keeping his distance as he saw a shinigami walk over to a couple of the children and reap their souls. The shinigamis never noticed that he was watching them from afar, knowing full well in the back of his mind that children died every night in the slums he was living in. He had his pack next to him with his doll and scythe close to him, continuing to be on the alert in case something went wrong. He listened to their conversations, making sure his eyes were hidden away in his cap and behind his bangs. Luckily they never noticed him behind them, since his bright red hair was slowly turning darker from the soot and grime in the air.

"I have a few more souls to reap till I'm off work," one of the shinigamis said as he began to talk casually to his coworker. "Did you actually **see** Undertaker work?"

"Yes, and it was the coolest thing!" the other chuckled. "He took on a mob of demon crows and with two swipes of his scythe they all fell down died."

"Oh boy! I wish I was around to see that," he smiled happily.

"Actually I have to go over there now," the other pointed to the other side of town. "I heard the Undertaker will be around tonight and it's the only time to see him in action."

"Wish I didn't have to reap dying souls in the alleyway," the shinigami huffed in a disappointed manner. "Well… have fun I suppose."

"I will," the other chuckled, the two of them parting ways and leaving the building together. They did not notice the small boy following behind them, pulling his cap closer to his face as he kept his bag tight to his side and followed one of the shinigamis to the other side of town.

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Grell shivered and pulled his coat closer to his body, standing behind a bush as the shinigamis gathered together on the edge of town. "We will corner the demons on the outskirts of the city," the Undertaker explained to the shinigamis gathered. "This will be a dangerous mission, so if you're unsure about confronting demons then leave now. I don't want any shinigamis dying tonight." The man coughed as his scythe mesmerizing in his hand as he slung it over his shoulder. "We will make a sweep across town, starting from the edge of west side of London and leading up to the other side. It will take all night and the paperwork afterwards will be heavy." Once he finished the Undertaker took off, a group of shinigamis following after him as another group went the other way and left a few stayed behind. Grell gulped as he tried to warm up his shoulders, wondering what they were going to do now.

"If they're going across the town then the demons will be swept close to the building," Grell realized quietly to himself, looking around to see that the shinigamis were talking to themselves. "I'll have to defend the building then," he concluded, sneakily getting up and leaving quickly down the hill. What he didn't notice was a pair of bright green and yellow eyes upon him, a wide grin showing up on the man's face as he giggled quietly to himself.

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Grell stood at the top of the building, letting out a big huff as he saw the demons approaching. They were being driven towards him, and if they were to see the lost souls in the building then it would be a feeding frenzy for all of them. He gulped, jumping down and stumbling as he fell. Oh boy! He should be more careful or else he could break his neck!

"_Hmmm_… hmmm?" a demon sniffed, smelling the air around him and licking his lips. "Hey, I think there's a bunch of souls in that building – AGH!" he yelped, a small death scythe going through his chest as Grell leapt out of nowhere and cut him in half.

Grell vanished just as fast as he came, using his speed to take down demons that came by suspecting that there were souls in the building. "Hey there's a pest here!" a demon finally realized as he stumbled upon a heap of demon bodies outside of the building.

The demon warned the rest of his comrades as Grell slashed him in the back and chopped off his neck, the blood spilling out all over his clothes as he jumped back and wiped the blood away from his eyes. "Oh great," Grell sighed, trying to wipe clean the blood off, but to no avail. Then he let in a big gulp, hearing the demons trampling closer and closer to him. He rushed into the building and barricaded the door shut, using logs and a long chain to keep the door shut. He yelped as he held the door shut as the demons tried to get in, Grell letting out a sigh as he looked around the room trying to figure out a place where the demons may be able to get in.

He jumped over to the edge where there were several broken windows, climbing up the stairs and about to open a window to get back outside. "G-grell mum?" he heard from a meek voice below him, Grell looking down and quickly hiding his scythe behind his back. "W-why are you still up –"

"Kid I just couldn't sleep," he chuckled nervously, noticing from the corner of his eye that a shadow of a demon had passed by them and a nightmare had gotten inside. "Ummm… how about you go back to sleep? You don't want to catch your death if you stay up any longer."

The child nodded and yawned, curling back up and falling back into a deep slumber. That's when Grell jumped down and slashed the shadow in half, grumbling under his breath as he pulled the demon's body up the staircase and threw it out the window. Then he followed after, his clothes completely coated in blood as he jumped out and closed the windows behind him. Grell jumped around on the rooftop slashing demons, making his way to the entrance of the building. He let in a deep breath and calming his nerves, jumping down and taking the demons by surprise as he silently slashed them in half.

He didn't know how long it had been since the demons started coming, but by the time the last demon fell he coughed from the chill in the air and limped away into a nearby alley way. Grell coughed again, groaning to himself as he suddenly felt the pains he had been ignoring the whole time he was fighting. "Hey – WOAH! Who did this?" he heard a shinigami say, Grell panting as quietly as he could as he saw the shadows of the shinigamis against the wall of the alley he was hiding in.

"I-it… no one could take on so many demons and survive," another one said.

"Well whoever it was they have a death scythe," a different voice observed, noticing that the demons had all been taken by surprise and killed by the blade of a death scythe. "It wasn't us –"

"Then whoever it is we need to keep on our guard," a shinigami huffed, "it could possibly be a demon that stole one of our death scythes. Let's go find it."

The shinigamis spread out in a flash, Grell covering his mouth with his hand as he stumbled backward in a desperate attempt to hide. He hid behind a few large boxes, cowering down as he saw two shadows creep closer to him. He closed his eyes and held his scythe close to his chest, fearing the worst if they found that it was him who had killed all the demons. "There is no one here," he heard from the other side of the alley, his eyes opening up in fright at the familiar low voice of a well-known shinigami. "The perpetrator ran off. I advise you go and track it down," he chuckled lowly, the shingiamis apologizing as they took off and didn't question him. Grell closed his eyes tightly again, a long dark shadow casting its silhouette against the wall behind him. "I'm not here to hurt you child," the man confessed as he chuckled yet again and kept his distance in the middle of the alley, "You worry too much."

"W-why shouldn't I," Grell pouted, "… Undertaker?"

"_Hehe~_ you know me without opening your eyes? What a dog," he huffed between light giggles.

"I am no dog!" Grell grumbled, opening his eyes and clamping his mouth shut with his hands again as he heard his voice rising. He wouldn't have minded picking a fight with the older man, but right now he had to keep hidden just in case he was her to betray him and be found by the other shinigamis.

The older man snickered, coughing lightly as he cleared his throat. "My apologies," he responded in a less threatening tone, Grell only staring at the edge of his black trench coat as the Undertaker gave him a tilt of his head before continuing. "… I only came by to compliment you," he explained with a light chuckle escaping his lips, "I honestly never saw a child as young as yourself take on so many demons without hesitation –"

"When there are other lives at stake other than my own. I won't hesitate, as long as they are my family and I am theirs," he huffed, standing up out of the alley way and eyeing the Undertaker suspiciously. The Undertaker raised an eyebrow, noticing that the boy hadn't left the fighting without a few battle scars on his clothes and perhaps deeper into his skin. Nothing a little treatment at the infirmary couldn't fix, but the man knew the boy wasn't going to go back to the shinigami realm with him. "… What?"

"Nothing," Undertaker shrugged, letting out a snicker as he looked over the blood all over the boy's clothes and face, "you're just amusing that's all. Haven't had this much excitement in eons." Grell took a few steps back with hesitation, unsure if he should take his words as a compliment or not. "It's about time for me to go," he tilted his glasses to the boy with a wide grin spreading across his face, "so take care of yourself. It would be a _shame~_ for a misfit to end up dead before their appointed hour." At this the Undertaker slowly walked down the alley way, Grell looking at his back as he glided quietly through the street and soon disappeared.

Grell had to admit, that shinigami was different than any other shinigami he had ever met in his small life, but that gave him all the more reason to not trust him. He let out a hiss, feeling a sting on his arm from the infected scars that had become irritated and the painful nip up his leg at a new claw mark on his calf. Well, he sighed, at least he came out alive right? He sat back and looked up to the sky, watching as the dark blues and purples slowly turned orange and red in the sky above him. Grell let out one final tired sigh and smiled contently to himself, a long memory coming back to him as he thought about the actions he had been making for the month he had been gone from the place he originally called home.

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_At least a year had gone by since Anna had started living in the orphanage with the other orphaned children. After a few months she insisted that Grell and her slept close and they were put in the brother/sister room every night. He taught her everything he knew about the street rules and about living in the orphanage. For one, don't expect to be taken care of. No one cares for them anymore. Two, if you find food covet it as your ration for the week. Three, when in doubt, run. Four, don't ask anyone about their past. Five, always show up on time. Six, keep your comments to yourself and you won't be bothered, especially to the adults. Seven, obey the rules. _

_Over the weeks following Anna managed to tweak the rules for them to a way that she found more appealing. For one, take care of those people who deserve it. Even if you dislike them, everyone doesn't want to be alone. Two, if you find food share it with your friends/family. They will do the same for you. Three, when in doubt, stand up tall and straight with your head held high and your fists raised. Four, don't talk to anyone about their past unless they want to talk to you. Five, show up on time, unless you're stuck in traffic or asking for extra help at school. Six, if you disagree speak out. Adults aren't always right. Seven, obey the rules, but if they make no sense then **bend** the rules. _

_Over the time they were together Anna taught Grell fighting moves, ways to defend himself, and where he should and shouldn't get kicked and beaten to prevent serious injuries. In turn, Grell taught her how to sew and cook anything they could find into something edible and even delicious. Anna would never admit this to him, but she was impressed that Grell knew a lot about cooking, sewing, simple hair care, and other basic things you would think only girls would be taught. Sometimes she would find him cutting a younger girl's hair in the corner of the orphanage into a very fancy hair style, though having her promise to not tell a soul that he was the one who cut her hair. Anna was sad that Grell wouldn't show off his talents, keeping his hair cut short with a simple messy cut and kept to himself about everything he had taught himself. _

_They also learned each other's quarks. Anna liked to run around in the rain and encouraged Grell to do the same. She liked to take long walks around the realm; once she was in town she knew where everything was, and who you should talk to and who was creepy. She knew how to take advantage of people and manipulate them, but only using her talent on people she didn't like and would threaten to bother her. She also liked to yell, every once in a while walking as far away as they could from any living people and yelling as loud as she could till her face turned red. Anna explained it helped relax her, especially when she was angry with someone or she felt bad about something. In turn, Grell had his little routines he had acquired over the years. He would wake up early and stay up late to gather fabric and string without anyone noticing. He would spend long periods of the day in the shadow of the buildings, keeping out of sight of anyone who could harm him as to give himself time to think about things he was worried about that day. He was always curious, using his quiet attitude to his advantage to spy on people from afar and listen to their conversations. He also liked school, even if he never admitted it to anyone, especially learning how to read and write. Grell had problems reading, but if the subject interested him then he would read the book till he was all done and several more times till he was bored. He would have bought a collection of novels and stories if he was able, but because he was an orphan he wouldn't be able to keep the books around. _

_As to their agreement, Grell called Anna 'big sister' and Anna called Grell 'little brother.' When asked why, they would say it was none of their business and walk away giggling to each other. Over the months that transpired the other kids forgot they had never been related, since their hair color and their eyes were similar. Even their skin was similar if you looked close enough, but Anna's skin was fairer compared to Grell's paler skin. By the next school year he was placed on the roster as Grell Sutcliff, which he took with honor that made Anna's chest swell with pride. She had never liked her last name till now, and was glad she was able to give it to him. Anna was happy that she passed on her name to a younger boy, whom she considered to be her little brother, that didn't own a last name of his own._

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**A/N: BAM! What do you think of that? X3 Heh, I'm going to get rocks thrown at my head because Grell didn't have a last name *hold book up to shield head from rocks flying everywhere* Anyways what do you think? I like how this is turning out. Don't worry, Anna will be explained more later, but as long as you understand that they call each other brother and sister… well never mind ^^ I'll go more into detail with their relationship later. Right now we're focusing on the little runaway =3 I hope you enjoyed this! =D Thanks for reading!**

_merci_ – French – _thank you_

_pas de quoi_ – French – _you're welcome_


	5. The Beasts

Kuroshitsuji © Yana Toboso

OCs © reaper-of-lost-souls

**A/N: Okay before you go on let me just say something: So I always thought that children would be able to see those shadows lurking on the walls and the creatures running about because of the imaginations they have. So perhaps adults wouldn't see demons and angels, but children would because they haven't been blinded by the idea that those creatures don't exist. So… yeah. Just to clarify that before you move on ^^ I see I have new followers? Hello! =D Well enjoy this next chapter! The story will go back and forth between two worlds a little, so be aware of that =3**

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"HhmmmUgh?" David groaned as Essie tried to wake him up by shaking him roughly.

"Big brother… frère? Frère come on and wake up!" she pouted, jumping on him to startle him.

"Okay I'm getting up!" he grumbled, pushing her from his stomach as he groaned and shifted under the big blanket he was still wrapped in. "W-what's the rush –"

"I-I don't know, but I can't find Grell," Essie frowned, David sighing as he got up and set the blanket down off to the side.

"Okay fine I'll go look for him, but you stay here –" he looked around, noticing there was a gathering of children next to the wide doors of the building. David got up and motioned Essie to stay put, rushing over to the commotion to figure out what was going on.

"We've been locked in!" someone cried out, David pushing them aside, which caused them to go silent.

"Wait a second," he sighed, "we're only locked on the inside. Why would someone do tha – Never mind. Does anyone know how to pick locks?"

A few of the children raised their hands and David pointed to one of them to pick the lock, the others flinging the chains off of the door and lifting the large timbers of wood off of the door. Letting out pants they opened the door, the doors getting stuck as they shoved the doors open. "I-It won't budge," a boy groaned, slamming his arm into the door to force the door open an inch farther.

"Something must be stuck on the other side," a girl suggested, peeping out the crack in the door at the sunlight that was passing through the door. Then she let out a frightful shriek, jumping back and falling to the ground trembling. "There are dead bodies out there!" she screamed, other children trying to comfort her as several other eyes peered through the crack to shudder back in disgust.

"You're right," someone nodded. "We still need to pry the door open. Come on!"

A bunch of them threw their weight at the door, slowly forcing the door open inch by inch till there was a big enough gap for a few of them to wander out and investigate. The first thing they noticed was the pile of bodies off to the side; some bodies not even looked human at time and scared more of the children back to the building. Those who were brave enough to touch the bodies did, using sticks or simply pushing them away and stepping on them to get out. Once outside a few shuddered, blood splattering the walls around them in a gruesome glow of bright crimson red. "W-what happened here?" a boy shuddered, looking around trying to figure out what had happened outside.

Wandering around they came across a small body on the ground, curled up in an alley way clutching a small death scythe and a tiny red-heated voodoo doll in his hands. "G-grell?" one of them gasped. "Hey Grell is that you?" a boy shook him, the little boy groaning at being awakened from the few minutes he had of sleep once the sun had begun to rise.

"Grell?" David looked up, rushing over to the group of children and pushing them to the side. "Grell are you there?" he frowned, shaking his shoulders in a desperate attempt to wake him up.

"F-ive more minutes A-anna," he shivered, staying in a tight ball as David tried to knock him back to his senses.

"Come on wake up!" he slapped his face, Grell wincing in pain as his eyelids opened widely and he held his death scythe at David's neck. Noticing it wasn't a demon he sighed, dropping the scythe next to him and grumbling in pain. "Hey Grell is something wrong –"

"N-no, no," he huffed at him, using the wall to help himself up as he gathered his things into his arms. "I-I'm fine… just in pain." Grell pushed the hands that grabbed towards him to help away as he insisted that he was fine, slowly shuffling back into the building and setting his stuff down by a log.

Grell sat down with a loud huff, wincing as he poked his calf and noticed why he was having trouble walking. "Here let me help," David insisted, having the other children go off as he sat down next to him to tend to his wounds.

"I don't need your help –"

"Yes you do now take it," David grabbed Grell's arm and growled at him roughly, noticing the tired and blank look in Grell's green eyes. David shook his head and let out a sigh as he gently let go of his arm, being careful not to hurt him any further. Slowly taking his time, David took out medical supplies and went right to work to cleaning up Grell's various injuries and bandaging him up. Grell sat in silence, the roughness in David's tone causing him to be quiet and timid towards him. "So… what happened?" David asked in a soft voice, pouring a small amount of alcohol on his scraps and causing Grell to wince in pain.

"I-it was nothing," he grumbled under his breath, "none of your concern… Even if I told you I can't, okay? Let's just leave the subject."

"Alright," David shrugged, "but everyone is asking. What's with the bodies anyways –"

"They're not gone?" Grell realized as he lifted his head up to look out the door to see that there was indeed dead demon bodies still on the ground. "… huh…" Then he mumbled something about someone not coming back to clean up the mess yet, but David couldn't make out Grell's words as he spoke lowly to himself.

"… I don't know what happened, but what I **do** know is that you're hurt and you need help. Stay here and don't bother running around. I'll take care of you," David told him, Grell raising an eyebrow at his comment before shrugging to himself.

"Fine. Whatever," Grell huffed, trying to hold back painful yelps as David dug into his skin roughly a few times to keep a firm hold on him. "… I'll stay." David nodded at Grell's decision as he looked up at him, Grell cracking a slight smile at the human before letting out another tired sigh and looking back towards the ground. If these demons kept coming back then Grell didn't know what he'll have to do. Will he eventually die? He hoped not, since he liked staying here and didn't want anyone else to worry about him getting hurt. Grell closed his eyes as his body numbed to the pain, trying to stay conscious and awake as David continued to tend to his various new wounds.

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William sighed, sitting at his desk continuing to read a random book from his collection at home as the teacher grumbled and stood up. "Mr. Spears this is ridiculous. It's almost five and I have to go to my office before it gets too late in the day. Could you –"

"Fine I'll go," William told him knowing exactly what he meant, collecting his books and putting them in his bag. "I'm sorry to keep you waiting. If my father comes by asking for me tell him I'll be outside waiting for him."

"Okay," the teacher nodded, quickly gathering his things and rushing William out the door so he could lock the classroom door behind him. William let out a huff and shook his head, walking down the hallway alone as the sun began to set.

By the time he walked outside the sun had almost set over the white buildings, William sitting down on a bench and opening his book again. Honestly he had never liked reading so many books, but when he was bored then it was the only thing he was able to do… at least at home. He sighed, looking up to the sky and deciding to watch the sun set instead. The red colors in the sky reminded him of Grell… again. "Shoot…" William sighed as he thought quietly to himself. It had been weeks, maybe even months since Grell had gone missing and the only one who seemed to notice or actually care was William. He had to be frank, he missed Grell. If it hadn't been for Grell showing up one day on the playground, even if it was mostly his sister that got them to talk to each other, it was the beginning of the relationship they had grown over the years.

He missed those times when Anna was around. She would invite William along on their little outings if his father hadn't come to pick him up yet. Of course, if it meant leaving school during the day he would refuse, but if it was after school then he would go. His father was never around when the other kids would be picked up from their parents, and by the time he would come back his father would still take another hour to show up. That was probably why he was missing Grell, just because he didn't have anyone to talk to anymore. William scratched his head, the words in the book starting to hurt his eyes. Maybe he should tell his father that he would need glasses soon, but since he was never around he'd have to ask his maid or perhaps cook. Looking at his watch and noticing it was almost six, he sighed and sat back on the bench. "Where are you?" he frowned, hoping Grell wasn't killed or severely injured.

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Grell hummed lightly to himself, the girl in front of him giggling as he braided her hair up. Once he was done the girl thanked him with a peck on the cheek and took off, playing over with the other children who were left behind while their older siblings were away at work. He was still injured, but since he wasn't human his body was quickly healing itself… for the most part. His arm still hurt and they couldn't figure out why. He sighed, scooting over to the fire and adding food into the pot for their lunch. He was glad David had warmed up to him, since he had to take care of his little sister anyways. He reminded him of someone he knew, but right now a name didn't come to his mind as he thought.

Oddly enough the events that transpired a few days ago were forgotten by the children. A shinigami must have gone by and wiped out their memories of the event, but for Grell it was still clear in his mind. When they asked again why he was injured he told them a fat cat startled him and clawed at his calf, but he knew he must have gotten it while he was fighting off the demons and didn't notice. He'd have to be extra careful next time, but honestly he didn't care. If he got hurt again he didn't care. Just as long as everyone was safe then he could care less about his body getting battered up and bruised every day.

Over the days that had transpired Grell had been up 24/7, staying up during the day to take care of the children still roaming around and staying up at night to fend off the demons. He knew that it was only a matter of time till a shinigami starts looking for him, but in the meantime he will stay and keep killing the demons. He had taught himself to hide his shinigami powers from the other shinigamis as they passed by, but the demons he could not. They were able to smell his blood in an instant and if they smelled him then they took off after him. He was fine with that. He was the one fighting them after all, but Grell knew if that continued he'll get killed. His stamina was starting to weaken day by day, the bags increasing under his eyes every morning when he looked at his reflection in the water.

What was keeping Grell on edge was the shinigami that kept showing up. Undertaker? Yeah that's his name. Grell didn't like the idea that he kept showing up without helping him, letting him fight off the demons instead of just standing in their way and killing them. Was he testing him or something? He sighed, confused to why the shinigami hadn't reported him and brought him back. There must be more to that old man then Grell first anticipated, but that's what kept him on edge. There was something amiss in the man, like there was something he was keeping bottled away for no one else to see. Grell could understand why, since he was a man in a high position and having a strict role was what he was personified as. The man made Grell feel that there was amiss inside of his own self, especially when he would stay up all night slashing and hacking the demons apart. Perhaps it was the fatigue wearing him down? He didn't know, but he knew that he had to keep going, even if the road he was going down would end up crumbling underneath him and causing him to fall –

"M-mommy?" Essie pulled on Grell's sleeve, causing him to snap out of his thoughts and look down.

"Yes Essie?" he asked, letting her crawl up on his lap and stare up at his eyes.

"… Grell you're tired," she pouted, "and I don't like it. Go sleep."

"Oh you know I can't do that," Grell chuckled, poking her on the nose and shaking his head at her. "I have to keep watch over you guys –"

"Not today you're not," David said from behind him, sitting down next to Grell as Essie grinned happily at them. "I'll stay up for now. You go sleep. We know you've been up all night."

"That so?" Grell huffed, "… Why are you here anyways? Your shift doesn't end for another six hours –"

"A few of the guys are taking an extra hour so I can come here today," David explained. "Plus… heck we all know you're working hard in your own little way _Mother Hen~_" he snickered at him.

Grell rolled his eyes and shook his head, unable to stop himself from chuckling lightly at the nickname they had given him. He was starting to regret reading the story tale books every other night before bed. "Okay I get it," he sighed, "but if you're going to keep an eye on them, then wake me up before the sun goes down. Can you handle making dinner?"

"Yeah why not," David shrugged, gathering the ingredients Grell had next to his feet and setting them closer to himself. "I've been taught how to sleep with only one blanket, get by on one meal a day, and how to operate a machine all in just a few days. I think cooking dinner won't be too difficult," he reassured him, helping Grell up and pushing he over to the blanket David had given to Grell to sleep in. "Now get to bed! I won't have you catching your death because you've lost steam."

"Alright! I'll sleep," he chuckled, flopping down on the ground and wrapping himself in the blanket. Grell automatically took out his doll and cuddled it against his chest, David nodding and walking away.

Essie crouched down next to Grell's face and stared at him, Grell raising an eyebrow at the younger child as she stared at his doll with interest. "What Essie?"

"W-well… I wanted to ask you something," she smiled as she sat her butt on the ground.

"What's that?" Grell sighed, suddenly feeling a gentle spell taking over him as his eyelids flickered in front of his eyes.

"… C-could you make **me** a dolly?" Essie blushed slightly. "I-I used to have a dolly, but it burned. I have the fabric and stuff! I just don't know how to make one –"

"Tell you what," Grell chuckled, "we'll look at the stuff you have gathered tonight and tomorrow morning I'll teach you how to make a dolly for your own. Alright?"

"Oui!" Essie giggled and jumped up excitedly. "Bonsoir Grell. Sweet dreams," she kissed his forehead, skipping away from him to give him time to sleep. Grell smiled at the girl and chuckled lightly to himself, letting out a well deserved yawn and closing his eyes while hugging his doll tightly to his chest.

!#$%^&*()

Grell huffed, blood splattering all over his face as the demon fell in front of him. He wiped a trickle of blood that started to drip down his cheek, licking his thumb as he grinned deviously. Then he ran forward and grabbed a small knife a demon had dropped, stabbing it into a different demon as it tried to run and slashing its head clean off. Grell yelped as he heard shinigamis coming by, sneaking back into an alley and hiding behind a trashcan that was left out against a wall.

"This is where it's been happening," a shinigami pointed at the reminisce of the dead demons on the ground. "We've suspected foul play, but we don't know a true motive. Perhaps a demon had stolen one of our death scythes, but why would a demon kill his own kind?"

"Demons are despicable creatures," the other huffed, tilting his glasses with his black glove and slowly looking around. "… No, this isn't a demon. A demon wouldn't be able to pull this off. Not only that, but the marks are shown to be caused by a **short** creature. So this must be the work of a child. The marks also show it was used by one of our death scythes, probably the standard scythe used for the academy."

"Child?" the shinigami raised an eyebrow, chuckling lightly as he scratched the back of his head. "I guess that can be understandable. Never thought it could be a child before…"

"Maybe a child has run off from the academy," the other man suggested. "Check the roster for the children attending the schools, especially the younger grades."

"Alright Spears," the shinigami sighed, jumping away from him as the other stayed behind to investigate. Grell gulped, shying away into the corner as the shinigami made his way towards his hiding place. Grell flinched back as a black glove slowly curled around the tarp he was sitting under, closing his eyes and expecting the worse.

"Mr. Spears," Grell heard from another voice, the glove moving away from the tarp as he looked at the other man.

"Yes sir?" Mr. Spears asked him.

"Go back to the realm," Grell heard from the other figure, "We're done for the night." With those words the shinigami took off, a new pair of hands wrapping around the tarp and flipping the cloth aside. The man chuckled, the being that he knew had been hiding under the tarp had moved from his hiding spot before he could notice him.

Skipping playfully over to the other side of the pile of trash, the shinigami moved a bunch of clutter to find Grell pointing his scythe defensively at him. Slowly Grell put down his guard, grumbling under his breath as the other man giggled at him. "What I _amuse~_ you Undertaker?" Grell huffed at him, letting the scythe fall down to his side as he glared up at the taller, intimidating man.

"Yes," Undertaker giggled, poking Grell's nose before flicking off a glop of blood from of his nose. Grell raised an eyebrow as he watched the older man, licking his thumb and lapsing up the blood onto his tongue. "I noticed you're having problems with your left arm. Care to inform me?"

"Non," Grell grumbled at him, "I'd rather **not**."

Undertaker sighed, leaning against his long silver scythe and staring down at the much younger shinigami. "Your arm must be infected," he told him, Grell glaring at him when he knew **exactly** what his problem was. "If you don't get treated soon then you'll have to amputate you arm –"

"I don't care," he huffed back. "I'm not going back there monsieur. Try as you might I'm not going back. These humans are my family and I will not let them get hurt, okay? So stop asking me!" Grell sneered at him, tired of the Undertaker's constant insistence to try to bring him back.

"I wasn't going to ask you to come back," Undertaker chuckled at him, "I respect your decision." Grell crossed his arms, unable to trust his words fully as he leered over him. "I was only telling you what will need to be done if not treated properly. That was a vicious demon wound you have. The demon's claws probably contained poison. The longer you have your wound go untreated or _poorly~_ treated then you'll have to chop off your arm to stop the spread of the infection. If you don't do **that** then it will kill you, so I'll give it… another month till you have to cut off your arm," he smirked at him, an unnerving grin growing on the man's face as Grell kept his glare on his black-rimmed glasses. Then the man sighed, noticing that he didn't have to continue talking about the subject since the younger boy won't give him a response. "If you didn't know, the other shinigamis are finding out that there is a runaway child who is killing the demons," Undertaker decided to explain, "and it's only a matter of time till they find out it's you. Are you willing to live up to the consequences if they find you here?"

"Like what?" Grell huffed, confused by his meaning of 'consequences.'

"_Well~_…" the Undertaker thought to himself, "First off, they will figure it out since there are humans souls that aren't being reaped because they weren't killed by a demon. Secondly, once they figure it's you they'll be looking for **you**. If you are indeed found you will be charged with insubordination and as a runaway, and because of your past records you'll likely be put to death. Lastly the child you gave a letter to, William T. Spears, will be accused of conspiring if they find the letter you wrote to him."

"What?," Grell yelped in surprise. "How do you know –"

"_I have my ways~_" Undertaker smirked, Grell's mouth practically dropping out of his mouth that elderly man knew that he had left a letter for William. "You will be killed, the human souls that you had saved may be killed, and Mr. Spears may also die. You sure you want to stay –"

"Yes," Grell growled again. "Oui, yes! For the last time yes! Okay? Get it old man? I'm not going back," he huffed, "There is no reason for me to go back. They need me **here**… and even if only a few souls live out of the multitude, it will be more then what I will ever do as a shinigami. I'm sorry, but I refuse to go back to the orphanage just to get beaten. I'd rather stand and fight, fight so they can have futures that I know I will never achieve." Grell sighed, starting to feel tired as his energy began to drop again. "Look, I don't know why you're telling me all of this, but I knew there would be bad consequences when I left. I'm ready for them. There is nothing for me to go back to and I'd rather be useful to someone then a burden on others… now please **leave me alone**. I'm tired of talking to a man who doesn't understand," he grumbled.

Undertaker sighed, picking up his scythe and letting it evaporate between his fingers. "Fine," he shrugged, "but don't say I didn't warn you." He began to walk away, stopping for a moment as he stood and turned his body back to Grell. "Oh and Sutcliff," he called to him, the boy looking over at him with a cold glare in his eyes, "Don't say I don't understand."

With those words the Undertaker dissipated into the air, Grell blinking in confusion before cursing under his breath. "Annoying old bat," he huffed, turning around and walking in the other direction towards the rising morning sun.

!#$%^&*()

**A/N: TADA! ANOTHER CHAPTER ^^ I'd probably wait for tomorrow to post this, but since I won't be online tomorrow because I'm skiing, I'll just post it now =3 So… do you guys like it? =D**

_frère_ – French – _brother_

_oui _– French – _yes_

_bonsoir_ – French – _good night_

_non_ – French – _no_

_monsieur _– French – _mister_


	6. The Tender Home

Kuroshitsuji © Yana Toboso

OCs © reaper-of-lost-souls

**A/N: I think it's about time for another chapter ^^ So this is more of a filler chapter; just to see how little Grell is faring in this human world. I added some random stuff in here, but it all adds up to Grell's own loves for the arts and I guess etcetera to hobbies and things he does that slowly turns him into the Grell we all know and love today =3 Hope you enjoy! =D**

!#$%^&*()

Grell yawned, rubbing his eyes and getting out from under the blanket. Even if he could only nap every once in a while it was enough for him to gain most of his energy back. He got up and began his daily routine, cleaning his face with the water that flowed down from a nearby stream before gathering a pot of water to begin cooking. He was sick of soup every day, but there was nothing else he could make that wouldn't involve a sort of oven or stove. Plus he wasn't going to steal anything since he _promised~ _David he wouldn't. Grell sighed, starting the fire up again before having the pot hover over the fire to warm up the water. In the meantime he walked back over to his blanket and put his doll back into his bag, which he had found torn up on the ground one day and decided to fix it up. It was covered with various patches that kept it intact; mostly red colors, but he had other colors thrown into the mix too. Giving a kiss to his doll he brought his bag with him to the fire and sat it down, sitting down on a log as he tended the fire with a long piece of iron and sticks.

By the time he was done cooking, the other children began to stir from their blankets. They probably woke up because of the smell in the air alerting them to food, since the sun wouldn't be rising for another couple of hours. If the children woke up early enough, they would walk over to the stream to wash their faces and wake themselves up before starting the day. Grell handed them the soup he was making, making sure it was hot enough to wake them up, but not scolding hot that it would burn in their tired mouths. It was around the sunrise that the children who had to go and leave for work, leaving less than a quarter of the children there for Grell to take care of. Those children usually slept in or they would wake up to get fed warm soup in the morning. Essie was always one of the children that slept in, which made Grell bored throughout most of the day.

By the time Essie woke up it was around noontime, Grell heating up the pot again to finish off any soup that may be left in the pot. Essie yawned, crawling out of her blanket and walking over to Grell. "Hey mommy," she began to ask with a yawn, "c-ccAAAN WE make the doll now?"

"Well sure," Grell shrugged, letting Essie walk around for a while till she wandered back with various colors of fabric and stuffing in her hand. "Don't **you** have a little selection of gems Essie," he chuckled, looking over the fabric and evaluating what he could have her make. "What would you like your doll to look like?"

"I want my doll to look like yours," she explained, flopping down next to Grell as she rummaged through the cloth and organized in her own little way, "but I couldn't find enough fabric! I want to make you… or maybe David… or mommy."

"Let's look at the fabric you have then," he smiled, sorting the fabric types, then sizes, then colors she had collected. "It seems to me that you have some flesh colored pieces here to make skin," he explained, "and mostly black string. We could make sure the flesh pieces are showing and the other colors we use will be hidden under the clothing… now let's see…" He had to admit this was hard. Usually he would only be working with black and white fabric, since that's what they used to make the suits, but now he had a range of selections to choose from and none of them seemed to fit together properly. "Ummm… well there's enough blue and red fabric to make the hair or the clothes. You have some brown here that we could use for highlights… though the decision to make the doll a girl or a boy is up to you. OH! And you have two large green buttons I see. You can use those for eyes."

Essie dropped down to the ground and rummaged through the fabric, trying to arrange it till she liked how it looked. "It can be a girl!" she giggled sorting out fabric for a dress. "I like the color purple, so I'll make a purple and blue dress!" she laughed. "Oh! And I want her to look like you, so I'll use the red fabric for hair… and add some red trimming in the dress… and maybe cute red shoes?"

"That sounds fabulous darling," he grinned, kneeling down beside her to help her sort her fabric together. "Let's make the body of the doll first. That way we can fit everything else around the body and size everything accordingly." Essie nodded in understanding, grabbing the flesh tones and other fabrics she was going to use into her hand and set them down on her lap to be used. Grell smiled, crossing his legs and grabbing his extra needles and thread he had so he could show her how to start the doll.

!#$%^&*()

)(*&^%$#!

"Grell! Mum Grell!" a boy behind him called, Grell turning around and setting the ladle he had in his hand into the pot. "Could you read this?"

"Oh sure," Grell nodded, grabbing the piece of paper from the boy's hand and looking it over. "… Huh… Where did you get this?"

"Find it on the street," he giggled.

"Alright," Grell smiled, flopping over on the ground and setting his head on the ground. "Let's see…

"_Death, be not proud, though some have called thee  
>Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;<br>For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow  
>Die not, poor death, nor yet canst thou kill me.<br>From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,  
>Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow,<br>And soonest our best men with thee do go,  
>Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery.<br>Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,  
>And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,<br>And poppy or charms can make us sleepe as well  
>And better than thy stroke; why swell'st thou then?<br>One short sleep past, we wake eternally,  
>And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.<em>"

"W-woh…" a few of the children gasped, gathering around Grell while he was reading as they listened into the poem. "W-what does that all mean?" one of the children asked him.

Grell scratched the top of his head, thinking so he could give them an answer. "I honestly don't know," he chuckled, "but let's see… this is a sonnet since it has fourteen lines. This poem is talking about Death … so I guess the poet is saying that Death is not proud, though many think so. I don't know. I'll read it again and let you guys determine the conclusion for yourselves." Then Grell read over the sonnet again and again, slowly memorizing the poem as he did. It was a quaint little poem on death, he had to admit, but he was more interested in poems consisting of lovers and tragedy then of death and sleeping.

"W-ait could it be that Death can die?"

"That can't be possible, since Death is death right?"

"B-but that's not right! The poem ends with saying 'Death, thou shalt die'," they began to argue among themselves, Grell only watching as they quarreled over the meaning of the poem. Essie looked up from her sewing and raised an eyebrow, giggling at ways they were yelling at each other.

"Hey now," Grell held up his hands to settle them down, "Don't argue. Everyone has their own opinions on poetry. That's what makes it literature." He smirked as he reviewed the poem one again, letting out a sigh since he'd have to come up with an explanation for the sonnet. "Honestly… I think this poem is very complicated," he grinned lightly. "The first part is always the most important in telling us what we should be looking for. 'Death, be not proud', **not** proud. Why would the poet write **not** proud? Yet if you read in between the lines to the ending the poet is talking about ways Death kills a person. Though the poet says something about Death not killing him… so how can that be if everyone dies?"

"… Heaven and Hell?" a girl suggested, the other eyes peering over at her as she shied away slightly. "W-well when you go to heaven you live in eternity with God. So does that mean that you're still alive after death? Right?"

"Oh I see," Grell nodded looking back at the words. "Death is a goal at the end of the road, the road of life. You end life with death and there is nothing afterwards. The poet used 'we wake eternally', so that could mean something like an afterlife I suppose…" he chuckled lightly thinking to himself. "So in other words, by going onto a different life, like heaven, then would your life have any real meaning if you are to continue on to a happier place? Then if life has no reason, then Death is impractical since it's not the end of the goal anymore. So why die? Huh! This is interesting…"

"Wow Mother," one of the children giggled, "you're smart."

"Thank you," he smiled back, folding up the piece of paper and setting it into his bag. "Honestly that's not my favorite pieces of literature –"

"Then what is?" they all gasped at once, their eyes batting up at him waiting for an answer.

Grell chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "Shakespeare mostly," he responded, though knowing probably most of them didn't know who the man was, "but anything that catches my interest. I can tell you one of the poems if you'd like."

"Sure!" a bunch of them cheered, sitting down next to him as Grell sat up and thought. Then he slowly walked over to one of the children, down on one knee so they were eye level to each other.

"_My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;  
>Coral is far more red than her lips' red ;<br>If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;  
>If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.<br>I have seen roses damask, red and white,  
>But no such roses see I in her cheeks;<br>And in some perfumes is there more delight  
>Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.<br>I love to hear her speak, yet well I know  
>That music hath a far more pleasing sound;<br>I grant I never saw a goddess go;  
>My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground:<br>And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare  
>As any she belied with false compare.<em>"

The child blushed shying away and the other girls giggled at each other. "W-who was that from?" one of the boys asked.

"_Oh why~?_" Grell smirked, standing up and wiping the dust from his pants. "Trying to _woo~_ a young maiden for her hand?"

He blushed and jumped away slightly, looking down at the ground and swinging his shoulders back and forth. "N-nooo," he responded.

Grell smiled, "William Shakespeare," he said again. "His 130 Sonnet. Spelled shake, spear, e."

"Okay!" he smiled, saying the name over and over in his head as he skipped away.

"Why do you like **that**?" Essie asked with a smile.

"Because it's a love poem, yet it starts off as an insult," Grell snickered. "I find it delightful." Essie snickered before giving him a nod, going back to her sewing and finishing the doll's body.

)(*&^%$#!

"How was everyone this time?" David asked as he watched Grell stir the soup in the pot with a ladle.

"We had fun like usual," Grell chuckled, "and Essie has been working all day on her doll. What do you think of it?"

"Hmmmm…" David shrugged, "Well if she likes it then I like it… but it doesn't look like a doll –"

"When you're on the streets you find what you can," Grell smirked. "… Needs more salt," he thought to himself, adding a few sprinkles of salt before stirring the food in the pot around.

"H-have you always been on your own Grell?" David decided to ask, his hands on his lap as he twiddled his thumbs.

"Yes," he sighed, "but in the village I grew up every child, poor or not, had to attend a school. That's where I learned about grammar and punctuation… just so you know."

"Y-yeah…" David thought, scratching his nose before looking over at Grell. "You know, you're the only friend I've ever had who talks to me honestly, well except for Ester of course."

"Heh. Thanks," Grell smiled at him. "You know, I think I remember who you remind me of."

"Oh?" David raised an eyebrow, "Who?"

"A rich little snot named William," Grell chuckled lightly. "He always was a pain in my ass, but I have to admit he was the only kid my age who would talk to me."

"I see…" David sighed, "So I'm just a rich little snot to you?"

"No!" Grell laughed. "No… just… I don't know," he shrugged, "Maybe we should leave the subject –"

"I always wondered about something Grell," David interrupted him, "though I hope you don't find this offensive –"

"Depends on the question," he grinned at him before turning back to the pot.

"… Ummm… do you sometimes wish you were… a girl?" David asked him, noticing that Grell set the ladle in the pot and put his hands in his pocket. "W-wait don't take offence!" he frowned, "Just… just I was wondering if other people felt the same way –"

"Oh?" Grell turned around with an eyebrow raised, "So you're into boys I see?"

"Y-yes – I mean no… I mean… I don't know," David sighed before looking up at him with a smile. "I was just wondering if you ever felt confused before. I can see it Grell, at least by the way you act. Not that sewing and cooking skills are only for women, but I notice a slight… how can I say it?... Shine, shine in your eyes when you talk about children and taking care of them. I don't know," he shrugged, "It's not my place to ask –"

"W-well you see David," Grell chuckled nervously, "I never thought about it."

"Oh…" David sighed, "Well then I'm sorry for asking –"

"No it's fine!" Grell smiled, "Thanks for mentioning it."

David nodded as he continued to watch Grell, leaning over his shoulder and looking into the pot. "How's the wound?"

"It still hurts," Grell shrugged, "but I'm alright. I'm hoping it's not infected…"

"I can't tell," David shrugged, "because I'm not a doctor, but the wounds aren't going away so you may be right."

"Yeah…" Grell sighed, "yeah… Call the others for dinner. It's pretty much done." David nodded and took off, leaving Grell to stare into the pot as he thought to himself. Was he into boys? He never thought about that topic before. To think David told him that he was… the boy must really trust him now. That made Grell smile as he began to hum, grabbing his cup and pouring the liquid into the container.

)(*&^%$#!

!#$%^&*()

Grell figured out, as he slashed the demons into two, that he must be getting stronger by the day despite his injury. Maybe it was because he was on his own or he had souls to protect, but either way he could feel the results. His speed was increasing as a shinigami's would. His power was increasing, even in the arm that was causing him pain. He could spend more days and nights up without any problems, and if there was a minimal amount of food he wouldn't have to eat for longer periods of time. If that old man was right he would have to chop off his arm soon, but yet Grell felt he would be fine without a limb if he continued to get as strong as he is. When there were times that he would regret being a shinigami, it definitely wasn't now.

With one more slash the final demon fell to the ground, Grell letting out a few puffs as he wiped the blood from his cheek. He smiled. Either the stories about demons weren't accurate or the demons he had encountered weren't very strong. Suddenly he spun him head around, hearing clapping at the top of one of the roofs as a dark man with long silver hair and a silver scythe jumped down behind him, walking past him as he made sure the demons were truly dead. "As always you've killed them with one swipe," he snickered at the boy.

Grell huffed, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at him, "Yeah, yeah... I was wondering why you keep talking to me instead of letting someone else come and find me."

"Oh?" the Undertaker grinned, spinning his head around and leaning his head close to the boy's face. Grell took a few cautious steps back, but kept glaring into the older man's glasses, which Undertaker found amusing. "You're _entertaining~_" he smirked, "and you make this dreary existence _thrilling~_"

Grell sighed and shook his head, continuing to take a few cautious steps backwards as he did. "Well… I guess that can be true," he shrugged, "I figure **your** life can be dull."

"_Excuse me~?_" Undertaker huffed before chuckling lightly and shaking his head. Then he walked over to the boy and rustled up his cap, causing Grell to yelp as his hair was completely ruined. "I'll see you tomorrow night," he waved to the boy, the sun slowly rising up in the sky, "and do remember to entertain me tomorrow. I have a feeling that I'll have another _bad day~_ again."

"Alright," Grell shook his head as a light chuckle escaped his throat, "I'll try." He let out a sigh as he watched the man disappear, turning around and heading back into the building where all the orphans were sleeping. Throwing his cap onto his blanket he sat down, grabbing his doll and hugging it close to his chest as he thought about the legendary shinigami. "What a creep," he huffed as he brought his knees up to his chest and thought. After a while he snickered to himself, noticing how he was slowly warming up to that disturbing old man. If William had known how the Undertaker **really** is… well he'd probably change who his role model is. Grell sighed as he rolled over and set his head down on the blanket, looking up to the ceiling as he contemplated to himself everything he was going through.

!#$%^&*()

**A/N: Huh that was short XD Anyways what do you think? Ya'hs? Nahs? The next chapter will be more exciting than this… I think =O For those of you who are requesting a certain little demon, _well~_ you'll be glad to know that he's most likely going to show up next chapter. For those of you who can't figure out whom I'm talking about, I'll tell you once the little story (within the story) is done =3 **

"_Death be not proud_…" sonnet by John Donne, written around 1610 and first published in 1633 – I chose this particular poem because we're going over the poem in class and I couldn't help but think, 'Hey I should post this in one of my stories!' So there you go ^^ (I do this every once in a while =3) And I think this shows a great view Grell has on death… tada!

Sonnet 130 by William Shakespeare – my literature teacher wouldn't stop talking about this poem okay? Every other day he seems to say this poem, so yeah I'm starting to like it XD It's stuck in my head whether I want it to or not =O


	7. The Pub

Kuroshitsuji © Yana Toboso

OCs © reaper-of-lost-souls

**A/N: Sorry for not posting another chapter for so long ^^' I was caught up in my other fanfic that I didn't have time! And I was forced to do other things during my break so I barely had time to work on anything… Anyways I hope you will enjoy this next chapter. We're back on track to the main plot. Well… ENJOY!**

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"… Another boy was found dead in the streets again?" Grell sighed as he tended to the pot.

"Yes Mum," a boy sighed. "The story is the boys are being lured in the middle of the night, raped, and then left for dead in the street. It's a gruesome sight –"

"I'd prefer if you keep this to yourself for the time being," Grell told the boy. "If you start spreading the word around that the streets are unsafe then we'll have problems. For now let's just keep calm and try to solve this before someone else dies… only boys?"

"Only boys," he told him. "If that's all then I'll go to work. See yah," he smiled, leaving Grell as he set the ladle down in the pot and let out a tired huff.

From the knowledge the children gave him, the boys being raped and murdered all happen on Ratcliffe Highway. Why anyone would go there is a mystery to him, but Grell did know that he'd have to investigate these murders tonight before another boy ends up dead. "David," Grell grabbed hold of his sleeve before he left, "I want to go out tonight so could you keep watch of the kids for me," he smiled.

"W-what Grell," he huffed, "your arm is still healing –"

"Doesn't matter," Grell pouted. "I am going and that's that. Just be here a little early… alright?"

"Alright," David sighed, collecting his food before turning to leave. "I'll be here before nightfall. Just come back in one piece."

"I won't make any promises," Grell winked at him, David shaking his head as he left. Grell chuckled for a while till he let out a tired sigh, looking down at the bowl of hot soup as the fire slowly died down. He had an unnerving feeling in the pit of his stomach that this was the work of a demon, a smart demon, and if it was then he may end up with more than a small infected arm.

!#$%^&*()

"Grell this way," a boy pulled on his sleeve, bringing him down the road, "this is where Pat disappeared."

Grell followed humbly behind the boy, keeping his eyes on everything that moved for any signs of foul play. The only thing he saw was filth, which he found sickening to his stomach. The air smelled disgusting, the adults were conversing in business he didn't want to know about, and there was rubbish everywhere they stepped. No wonder there were children that left, but hey a person has to do what they got to do. He hoped in the back of his mind that he wouldn't have to go back to the building before he was done, since the demons were still out killing humans and snatching souls. Well… he could only hope that they wouldn't get hurt –

"Hey Raven," a boy waved as the boy looked up from the wall he was leaning against and walked over. Grell raised an eyebrow, watching as the boy about his age came towards them puffing on a cigarette in his mouth.

Grell looked him up and down, noticing how eerie the boy, whom is called Raven, felt. He was wearing a big black scarf with oversized red collared shirt and large black trench coat much too big for his small body. He had black dress pants, black shoes, and black gloves on, which was a weird outfit for a boy to have. The thing that made Grell nervous was his short black hair, and even more so, his red piercing eyes that seemed to see right through him. "What are you looking at?" the boy huffed, Grell coughing and quickly looking down at the ground.

"Oh don't worry about it," a boy next to Grell smiled, "Raven is someone we can trust."

"Hmmmm…" Grell narrowed his eyes at him from behind his red hair, "I have my doubts."

"Humph," Raven huffed at Grell, turning his back on him and looking at the other boys. "So I have some less expensive beer tonight. Anyone want some?"

"Sure!" most of the boys said, following Raven through a back door of a pub and sitting down at the stairs leading up to the rooms above.

Grell kept his eyes on the boy as he sneaked into the bar, snatching a few beers and bringing them back over where they sat. "Who is this boy anyways" Grell grumbled under his breath, "and why are you hanging out with him at night?"

"Oh," the boy next to him chuckled. "We call him Raven… or that's what he calls himself I suppose," he shrugged, "but anyways we come here after our shifts for a few drinks. That's all."

"Hmmm…" Grell responded, eyeing the boy as he handed over the beers and gathered the money the boys were handing him.

"We don't know much about him," the boy continued, "but we do know that he works here. He talked to us a few weeks ago while we were making our way home, and since most of us wouldn't mind getting our whistles wet we came in for a few drinks before stumbling home."

"A few weeks ago?" Grell thought. "… that was when the boys started disappearing."

"Oh that so?" The boy chuckled, paying for his beer and nudging Grell in the arm, "Do you want some?"

"Nah," Grell shook his head, "I shouldn't drink –"

"I assure you nothing is wrong with the beers," Raven said, holding the beer in front of his face. "What," he asked, "You _scared~?_"

"No!" Grell growled at him snatching the beer from him. "I am no chicken!"

Then Grell blinked, remembering he should probably pay for the beer even though he didn't have a lot of money to spend. "I can pay your way if you don't have the money –"

"It's on the house," Raven told them, turning around and heading back to the bar. "I don't want you to hate me so early on."

Grell huffed at the boy as he left, staring into his opened bottle at the liquid in his hand. He had to be honest; he never had alcohol in his life. In the shinigami realm they prohibited alcohol for minors till they graduated. Grell gulped, bringing the bottle to his lips and only letting a sip run down his throat. Suddenly he let out a cough, gagging into his sleeve at the foul taste the beer had. "My!" the boy laughed patting Grell on the back roughly, "I would think you never had a beer in your life!"

"I-I guess," Grell coughed, his face turning red from his hefty coughing. He let out another sigh and brought the bottle to his lips, drinking down some more as he eyed it suspiciously.

This time he took the time to study the taste, noticing there didn't seem to be anything wrong with it. "Like it?" Raven asked Grell as he shrugged.

"I guess." Grell huffed, "But I don't like the flavor."

"Oh," Raven nodded as he pulled his scarf closer to his mouth and sat down next to him. "It's all I can give you," he explained in a soft voice, "because my master only wants me to sell the cheapest beverages to the children."

"Master?" Grell raised an eyebrow. "You're a servant?"

"Yep," he nodded, "but not a very good one. If I don't deliver my master his desires every night he punishes me."

"That's awful," Grell frowned sipping down more of the drink. "You know, if you don't like it here you could come live with us –"

"Nah," Raven held up a hand and stood up, "I'm fine here. Thanks for the offer."

Then he left them and walked back into the bar, cleaning the counters with a rag and handing out the drinks the customers demanded from him. "He's always like that," the boy told Grell before chuckling, "but don't worry. He grows on you over time."

"Yeah…" Grell sighed as he sipped his beer, "I guess so…"

!#$%^&*()

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Days had passed and every night there would be one boy unaccounted for. Grell started to worry, turning the ladle in the pot as he thought to himself. "David," he began to say to the boy sitting behind him, "I'm going to go out tonight. I'll need some money for a drink."

"Oh?" David sighed as he stood up and looked into the pot, "Why? They boys are vanishing and turning up dead days later worrying you?"

"Of course," he huffed, "I **am** _the~_ Mother Hen after all and as a protective mother I want my chickadees counted and accounted for… you don't go to that pub do you?"

"Nope," David chuckled as he sat back down. "I save every pence I get. Plus I don't drink… at least not beer," he admitted.

"You won't mind if I take some money off of you tonight?" Grell looked behind him, a look of worry on his face.

"Not at all," he smiled, "we're family after all and I'm the one keeping you here. Just… just make sure you come back safely. Whatever is going on I don't want you to be the next boy turned up dead."

"Fine," Grell nodded, "I promise I'll come back. Don't worry about it David. I won't leave you and Essie alone. You'll be at each other's throats if I do."

"Oh Grell," David laughed, handing him some coins from his pocket and placing them in Grell's hand. "There's enough for about two beers and maybe some bread. Whatever you don't use give it back to me in the morning… alright?"

"Alright," Grell promised, shoving the coins in his pocket and going back to tending to the pot. "Now get your breakfast and go already. You'll be late if you don't." David nodded and took the ladle from Grell's hand, pouring the liquid into his cup and slurping it down as he turned to leave.

)(*&^%$#!

"I didn't think I'd be seeing **you** here again," Raven smirked, handing him a beer and holding out his black glove to Grell for the money.

"Figured," Grell sighed, grabbing a few of the coins from his pocket and setting them into the boy's hand. "… By the way… do you know where Trevor went?"

"Haven't seen him since yesterday," Raven admitted, setting his stuff down and using a rag to clean the sticky beer from his hands, "Why?"

"According to the boys he was here and disappeared after he came into the pub," Grell huffed, "so **you** must have seen him last."

"Oh did I?" he shrugged, looking up to the ceiling as he thought about Grell's accusation. "… how old?"

"What does **that** matter?" Grell raised an eyebrow.

"Because I have a lot of customers every day and I can't recall a boy named Trevor," Raven huffed, turning around and heading for the bar.

Raven took his time before he came back to the stairs, throwing a rag over his shoulder as Grell stared at him as he drank his beer. "Trevor is about eight," Grell told him as he sipped from his beer, "with light brown hair and blue eyes."

"Eight…" Raven thought, sitting down next to Grell and putting a cigarette into his mouth. "Yeah I guess I saw him last night," he admitted as he lit the cigarette and threw his match to the ground.

"You did?" Grell responded, "When? What happened to him?"

Raven let in a big gust of air, sucking in the smoke into his mouth before puffing out the smoke from his lips and into the building. "… Hmmm… I can only answer part of your question –"

"I don't care. Just answer me," Grell grumbled, getting tired of the waiting the other boy was making him do with the information he seek.

He puffed in more smoke and then blew it out, looking at the wall as he spoke. "Last night," Raven began, "I saw him passed out on the stairs. He must have had more then he could handle, so I brought him up the stairs to one of the rooms and set him inside."

"Oh?" Grell raised an eyebrow.

"Then I left him there and by the next day he was gone," Raven finished, sucking in more smoke from his cigarette before letting a puff. "At least once a night a boy will drink more then he should and pass out on the steps. So I let him sleep off his hangover in one of our rooms at the top of the stairs."

"Is there a specific room you place them in?" Grell asked.

Raven looked over at him, holding the cigarette in his glove and glaring his red eyes at the boy. "Why?" he responded, "You think _I~ _have something to do with their disappearance?"

"I don't know," Grell shrugged, "but this entire pub is a prime suspect and everything that goes on inside. So? Which room?"

"RM 666 at the end of the hallway to the left," Raven pointed, "but only staff and paying guests are allowed to use the rooms anyways."

"Okay," Grell nodded as he drank down more of his beer, "thank you for telling me."

"No problem," Raven nodded, letting in one last breath of smoke before throwing his cigarette down on the ground and squishing it with his foot. Then he turned to leave, leaving Grell sitting on the stairs thinking to himself.

"Oh Raven," Grell called to the boy getting his attention, "You know, one of those cigarettes can kill you one of these days."

The boy chuckled at him, "You may think that, but I'll have you know I'm _extremely~_ careful," Raven responded, turning back around and continuing on with his duties.

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!#$%^&*()

Grell groaned, leaning his head against the railing as a boy slumped into Grell's shoulder and hiccupped. "G-grell did you drink a lot too?" the boy chuckled; letting out another hiccup before letting out a tired yawn in his face.

"Y-yeah," Grell coughed as he felt his arm stinging as the boy leaned against it, "_Oh boy!_ I have to _hold~_ back on the **drinks**."

"Hey now?" Raven sighed as he came to the stairs with his arms crossed over his chest, "Two? Master is going to have a field day."

"W-wHA_T now~?_" Grell asked him, Raven ignoring the boy's comment as he helped the two of them up to their feet, mostly helping the boy next to Grell then Grell himself.

Raven slowly led them to a room at the end of the hallway, Grell glancing over at the numbers next to the doors. 08, 10, 12, 14, 666? Grell tilted his head to the side, the number next to the door being out of place as Raven led them inside and helped them sit down. "Now go sit down and rest," he told them as he pressed a hand on Grell's arm and pushed him down on the bed, "and spend the night. I don't think you two are fit to go off in the middle of the night." Grell leaned his head against the bed, staring at Raven as he took out a cigarette and began to light it. "Oh and shinigami," he called to Grell as he began to pass out, "you shouldn't have come," Raven began to laugh, turning around and walking out the door.

Grell's head fell into the sheets, his eyes flickering as he began to groan. "_S-shhhhhhiiiittt~_…" he said as he heard the door lock will Raven's body disappeared from his vision, his eyes closing as his hat fell off of his head and fell onto the rotting hardwood floor.

!#$%^&*()

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"Sir here's the report," a shinigami said as he set a pile of forms on his superior's desk, the man thanking him as the other walked out of his office.

"Great," the man huffed, looking at the forms laid out on his desk. "Let's see… So we have a _Faustian bargaining demon_ in London? How many now... only this one I suppose, or perhaps even more –"

"F-father?" a little boy called into the room, slowly poking his head in and looking at the black haired man sitting at the desk.

"Oh William," the man looked up and ushered the boy in, "what are you doing here –"

"I-it's noon," William explained with his hands behind his back, "and you said you would be bringing me to the optometrist for glasses –"

"William I'm sorry," his father sighed, "but we have troublesome demons on our hands so I will have to work. You understand correct?"

"I-I guess," William sighed as he looked at the ground.

"... Tell you what, how about I get someone else to take you. There's probably someone here who isn't doing anything," he suggested.

"I guess," William let out another sigh, watching as his father called for someone on the intercom and then turned his attention back to his son.

"... Well go ahead and wait outside the door. Someone will be with you shortly." William nodded and obeyed, leaving the office and closing the door behind him. Then he looked back at the form in his hand, reading over the demon's information and memorizing it. "... has black hair, pale skin, and red eyes... known for taking souls of drunks and rapists... though a very loyal demon it seems. Doesn't go after any other soul except for the one it's contracted to." Then Mr. Spears stood up, almost finished looking over the information as he grabbed his coat and death scythe. "...around for about six hundred years and a very crafty demon I see... Well demon, I'll make sure today is your last breath," he smirked, grabbing the file from his desk and walking out the door.

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**A/N: Heh. I want to see how many people get the hints I made ^^ I'm excited for the upcoming chapters. DRAMA! SUSPENSE! Meh not really, but because I'm so mean I'm leaving you with a cliff hanger. What happens to little Grell now? XD Well you'll have to see in the next chapter! =3 **

Raven – English – large black bird, crow


	8. The Aggressor

Kuroshitsuji © Yana Toboso

OCs © reaper-of-lost-souls

**A/N: Hmmm… well it seems SOME people have figured it out XD Anyone else? =O Oh and at a point of a writer's block (it's at chapter… 13ish) so I was wondering if anyone wanted me to put any of their own OCs in? Just figured I'd ask while I'm ahead ^^ They'd be shinigamis though… so yeah ^^ (maybe other creatures too, but you'd have to talk to me about it first =3) So I hope you guys have been enjoying this. SORRY IF IT TOOK A WHILE TO POST THE NEXT CHAPTER! I've been busy and going back and forth publishing this story and then my homework was giving me a headache, plus I had a brain spark and couldn't stop writing for my other fanfic. That's all ^^ Well ENJOY! =D**

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Grell's slowly look up, groaning as his eyes adjusted to the sunlight peering into the room… room? His head quickly lifted up till he felt his hangover, setting his head on the pillow and groaning. He'll be okay in a few more minutes, but he wished there was some water around so he could wash the remaining alcohol from his mouth. Taking slow movements, he lifted up his head again and looked around the room. The room was old, rotting everywhere and cobwebs in almost every corner. The only source of light was a small window leading out to the back of the building and the small crack coming from the door. There were two beds and equally large in size. The room must have been big to fit king-sized beds. Looking at the other bed he frowned, noticing the other boy who had passed out last night. "L-leon?" he called to him, gently lifting himself from the bed and staggering over to his.

The other boy slowly opened his eyes, groaning as he looked up to find Grell hovering over him. "O-oh Grell?" Leon raised an eyebrow, "W-where are we –"

"I don't know," he told him honestly as he stood up and walked over to the door, "but all I know is we have to get out of here, **now**."

"Alright, alright," the boy huffed as he walked over to Grell, "keep your shirt on."

"Not until I have you safely out of here –" Grell paused, quickly noticing that the door had been locked. "What?" he growled as he turned the knob again and again trying to open it. "I-it won't budge! –"

"Here let me try," Leon sighed as he pushed Grell over to the side and turned the knob. "Huh… you're right. They must have locked us in."

"Then we must escape!" Grell ran to the window, opening it and looking down. He quickly staggered back, noticing how high they were from the ground. He may be able to make it down, but he knew Leon wouldn't be able to if he were to survive the fall, then he would get into trouble with the other children. "O-okay… okay let's think of a plan –"

"Hold it," Leon held up his hand to Grell as he sat down on a bed, "Calm down. We'll get out of this okay? Nothing to worry about."

Grell stared at Leon as he set his head on the bed, groaning from his hangover and trying to close his eyes. Grell could only shake his head, knowing in the back of his mind that he was in a terrible situation… oh! "Right," he told himself, rushing over to the bed and grabbing his cap. His bag must have wandered into here if… it wasn't anywhere in the room. He sighed, putting his cap back on to hide his eyes and flopped a hand over his face. Whoever brought them here must have taken his bag, which had the only weapon of defense he had. He ran a hand through his hair, looking at his red bangs as he thought. "Okay Grell what did he say?" he thought aloud and ignoring the grumbling Leon made at him. He had decided to use most of the money David gave him to get drunk. Maybe that wasn't the best idea, but he had never seen a drunken person so he couldn't act it out. Next he was brought into this room… the room's number?... aw yes 666! Then Raven, aw yes it was Raven who brought them in there, and he said something… what did he say?... "Oh snap," he opened his eyes and gasped, he called him a shinigami! How did he know he was a shinigami! Unless… "Oh no…" he groaned, shifting in the bed and looking at the wall. Grell was in trouble now. That boy **must** be a demon for sure… so why didn't he eating him? Aren't demons notorious for gobbling up any soul they can find? Ugh, that must have been toying with him… the sick bastard. Leon would have to be right; they will have to wait till the person with the key came by and opened the door. Till then he will wait, wait patiently for the demon to come back to devour him.

!#$%^&*()

"Raven go scavenge for my next meal," an old man ordered from behind his desk, the boy bowing and walking down the hallway.

When he opened the door of RM 666 Raven found the two boys looking up from the beds, staring at him waiting for what he was going to say. "Well…" he sighed as he closed the door behind him and pulled his scarf closer to his mouth, "my master wants to see you. I will bring one, but the other will be locked in this room till further notice –"

"I'll go," Grell volunteered, hushing Leon with his hand as he stood foreword and came towards the demon. "I'm here for a reason, so let's get this over with."

Raven nodded and grabbed Grell by his arm, pulling him out of the room roughly and locking the door behind him. He kept a stern eye on the boy, a smirk slowly showing up on his face as he saw Grell wince. "You seem to have developed a little scratch on your arm," he smirked at him.

"Oh wouldn't _you~_ like to know _**demon~~**_" Grell sneered, glaring at him from behind his cap.

"Ah! I see you figured me out," Raven smirked, "but I will warn you, your death scythe won't save you now. Luckily for you my master's contract is almost over, so you may be able to go without sufferin –"

"Why haven't you eaten me yet?" Grell growled. "You're a demon. You eat souls. I know **mine** must smell delicious –"

"Because I am not contracted to **you**," he huffed. "You see little reaper, unlike _some~_ demons you may have come across I don't eat souls that I haven't earned. I like to work for my food… it's more fun that way," he chuckled lowly.

"You bastard," Grell huffed. "… Why would a demon like yourself contract themselves to gross –"

"Why?" Raven chuckled, "Why… I grew up that way, but honestly I'm getting tired of this. These souls of drunks and rapists aren't satisfying me at all –"

"W-wait drunks? Rapists?" Grell gulped. "W-what are you going to do –"

"It's not me, but my master's choice what he does with you," Raven explained, "and if I don't supply him every morn, then he can use me for his own pleasure. A pitiful soul really, trying to bring back his dead son by raping and killing others. A sick, twisted mind –"

"Yet you let him live," Grell huffed. "If it were me I would have slit his throat when I found out –"

"Well that's the difference between you and me shinigami," Raven smirked, "you evaluate souls and I devour them. The purer the soul the delicious the meal is. A beautiful concept, yes?" Grell glared at him, the demon shrugging back at him as he shoved Grell into a room. "Here he is master," Raven bowed.

"_Good~_" the man said, standing up and walking towards them, "You may go back to your duties demon." Raven nodded and closed the door behind him, locking it as he left and leaving Grell inside with the old man. Grell gulped, looking around the dark room and trying to figure out where he was. The room was an office, yet there was a king-sized bed over to the side. Sadly he didn't notice any windows, only the door that had been locked is his only way of escaping. The man ushered him over with a finger, sitting down on the bed and pouring out some red wine. "_Come my boy~_" he cooed, "Time is of the essence." Grell slowly walked towards him, taking the glass from his hand and sitting on the other side of the bed. "My, aren't you a beauty?" he smiled at him through crooked teeth. "You must have had a hard life, didn't you boy?"

"Y-you could say that," Grell shrugged, looking down at the wine hesitantly.

"If you don't drink the wine then I'll have to beat you," the old man said roughly before giving him another smile. Grell glanced over at him before bringing the glass to his lips, slowly drinking the wine before setting the glass down in his hand. He looked to the wall and made sure he wasn't being drugged, suddenly noticing his bag sitting against the wall atop his desk. Before he could think he felt a hand grace his face, boney fingers trailing up for his hat. "A lovely young boy like yourself shouldn't hide his eyes behind a hat," the man huffed, gripping the hat and throwing it off to the side. "You should show off your pretty little eyes to me boy. Raven has told me _all~_ about whom you are and I plan on making you my _pet~~_"

"W-whatever do you mean sir –"

"You are a reaper he said!" the old man huffed, "but if I keep your scythe then you can't kill me. Don't you _love~_ the principle? A human who doesn't die? Truly phenomenal in my opinion –"

"Perhaps," Grell interrupted him, "but if I don't kill you then someone else will. I'm not the one who –"

"Quiet boy," he growled in his ear, "I don't want to hear it." Grell gulped, watching as the man glugged down the wine in his glass and looking at the table. The old man was deep in thought, but Grell didn't want to know what. He sipped more of the wine. He had to come up with a way to escape with Leon or else he will end up dead. If this man knows he is a shinigami and knows about his death scythe, then Grell had a feeling that if his temper boiled just enough he wouldn't hesitate to kill him. He had a feeling he had taken his scythe out of his bag and had it hidden somewhere in the room. Where it was, Grell wished he could know. "My boy," the old man set his glass down, "aren't you done yet?"

Grell shrugged, "I always found a cup of wine a day to be pleasant in _this~_ young child's mind," he smiled to him, showing off his sharp teeth before hiding them back behind his lips. Perhaps he could find the contract the man had and use it to control **him**. Swirling the liquid in the glass he took a sip, biding his time as the man slowly got frustrated with his stalling.

Grell watched as his eyes turned towards the nightstand before snapping back at Grell. "You need to learn to respect your elders," the man huffed, opening the drawer and pulling out rope. Growling as the wine was thrown in the man's face; he snarled and tied Grell up by his hands and feet to the bed. Grell began to scream, a gag going over his mouth as the man slapped him in the face. "Shut up!" he commanded, Grell glaring at him as he stared back. The man went for his drawer again and pulled out Grell's death scythe, his eyes widening as he tried to inch away. "_Awwww~_ I see what you meant demon," he chuckled, holding the blade up to Grell's throat. "Now, will you be a _good~_ boy or will I have to use your little weapon here?" Reluctantly Grell nodded, biting down on his bottom lip and feeling blood roll into his mouth as he tried to fight back tears. "Now hold still," the old man said roughly as he startled Grell's hips, "and you won't be killed… yet." Grell closed his eyes as he heard the man's trousers unzip, whimpering as he felt hands along his body and pressing down on his pants.

!#$%^&*()

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Grell shivered on the bed, his clothes having been discarded to the side by the old man as he lay on the bed panting. The old man already fell asleep, unknowing that Grell finished untying the rope around his hands and legs as he slowly slid off the bed. He grabbed for his clothes, slipping them back on quickly as he rushed over to his bag and looked inside. He sighed with relief, seeing his doll sitting contently at the bottom of the bag. He snuck over to the nightstand and carefully opened the drawer, making sure it didn't make a squeak as he opened it. He gulped, grabbing the scythe and closing the drawer slowly. Then he hastily walked over to the door and opened it, using the skills he had learned on the streets to open the door with a piece of barbed wire he had in his bag.

Closing the door behind him Grell made sure no one was around as he crept to the other end of the hallway, opening the room that had the number 666 next to the door. He slowly opened the door, looking inside and spotting Leon on the bed. "Leon," he called to him quietly, "Leon!" he said a little louder to get his attention.

Leon groaned and turned over in the bed, looking over at Grell as he stood cautiously at the doorway. "G-grell?" he answered as he stood up, "W-wha – where did you go –"

"No time," he huffed roughly. "We have to go, **now**. We can talk later, but we **have. to. go.**"

"Alright I'm going," Leon sighed, grabbing his things and rushing out the door. Grell closed the door behind him and grabbed Leon's hand, ushering the boy to keep quiet as he led them down the stairs towards a door. Grell peeped around the bend, noticing Raven was hard at work cleaning the tables and the floor. Either he didn't notice him, or more likely he didn't care, but Grell wasn't going to take any chances. He pushed Leon out the door, pulling him down the street till they started off in a dash. "What is going on?" Leon asked once they were a good distance away from the pub.

"T-that man! –" Grell yelped, pausing once he realized what he could have just said. "That man… he rapes children Leon," he explained, "and even more… he rapes eight-year-old boys and kills them if they don't do as he says. That's why we've found dead boys on the streets. It's because of him."

"W-wait," Leon paused and stopped Grell as he tried to get away, "What did he do to you…" Leon frowned, noticing the terrified look in Grell's green eyes. He stared at him in awe, never before seeing Grell without his hat pinned down over his eyes.

"H-he… he…" Grell gulped, his hand going to his stomach as he began to feel sick, "H-he… he… e… raped me. It was the only way to plan my escape Leon… I-I –"

"Hey it's alright," Leon gave him a sympathetic smile, "It's alright… we will get through this together right? You're still our mama; even if that bad thing happened to you you're still my mama. Now let's go back to the others. They must be waiting for us." He held out his hand to Grell and he graciously accepted, running down the street hand in hand afraid if he let go he'd end up back at that place. That disgusting human, Grell couldn't help but think. To turn him into a whore! He… he couldn't even think clearly. His scythe was hanging tightly by his side as he ran, unsuspecting to him the red pair of eyes keeping a firm eye on the two.

"W-wait," Grell stopped Leon as he clutched his scythe tighter, "I-I feel something is watching us." Leon gulped, looking around as Grell turned his attention to the demon perched on the roof watching them. "Leon," he whispered quietly, "you should run."

"What –"

"Get home without me. I'll distract the creature," Grell said roughly. "J-just tell David and Essie that I'm sorry I couldn't stay around."

"B-but mama –"

"Leon run!" Grell yelled at him roughly, "Run and don't look back!" The strictness in his voice and the tears that began to flow out of the boy's eyes caused Leon to run, doing as Grell said and not turning around to see if Grell would be okay.

Grell growled and threw his scythe at the demon, the death scythe turning in a boomerang type of effect and spinning back into his hand. He wiped the tears from his eyes, his hand swinging in front of him just in time to stop the demon's attack. "You know I could care less if you escaped," Raven huffed, "but sadly my master woke up a few minutes after you left. You poor, poor sap."

"Shut up," Grell growled at him. "You bastard! I hate you! Leave me alone –"

He jumped back, claws growing from Raven's hands and morphing the black gloves into talons. "I cannot," Raven huffed as he stood up and prepared himself for another assault, "I must follow my master's orders till **someone** kills him."

"Jackass," Grell hissed at him. "You and you master are **both** jackasses!" Then he ran at the demon, his scythe raised as the demon jumped forward to rip at his face.

)(*&^%$#!

!#$%^&*()

"You say Grell didn't show up at all?" David frowned, sitting down on a log and putting his head in his hand as he turned to look at the girl sitting beside him.

"No!" Essie began to sniffle, "a-and… a-and I'm worried frère. I-I'm worried for mommy."

"Now, now," he cooed, pulling her close to his chest and rubbing her arms, "It's alright sœur. W-we'll find him –"

They looked up to see a young boy running into the building, panting exhausted and turning around to look down the alley. "G-grell?..." he sniffled, stumbling in and falling limp to the ground. "Grell! Grell!" he began to cry, his tears falling to the ground and causing the dirt to turn muddy.

"Essie stay here," David told her, investigating the scene as the boy looked up with his eyes watering intensely. "You say you know where Grell is?" David asked the boy as he crouched down to the ground and set a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Y-yeah," the boy pointed to the alley, "W-we had escaped and this thing came after us and –"

"Now hold on," David sighed, "let's take this one step at a time. I can't understand you." Leon nodded and sucked in a deep breath, keeping an eye on the alley as he explained to David what happened.

!#$%^&*()

)(*&^%$#!

Grell cried and cursed at Raven as he roughly pulled him down the alley way, his infected arm being pulled by Raven and his other hand trying to swipe at his head. "Don't you get it?" Raven sighed as he shook his head. He grabbed Grell's hand and leered at him, Grell whimpering in fright as he felt his death scythe slipping from his hands. "I said someone can kill him. Then my contract is over. It doesn't have to be a human who does it either –"

"B-but I can't do that!" Grell growled at him, pressing his shoe into Raven's stomach and kicking him away. Grell gripped his arm in pain, feeling the healing skin starting to rip apart by the demon's actions. "A shinigami shouldn't meddle in the affairs of humans –"

"Yet here you are," Raven pointed to him, "living with a bunch of humans as if you are one of them. I swear little reaper, you're more clueless then you look –" Raven paused, smirking once he noticed Grell was sneering at him. Grell had to admit the demon was right. He had already meddled enough, so what's stopping him from killing the disgusting geezer. The idea grew more and more logical as he thought, pushing past Raven and gripping his scythe tightly. "My now, where are you going –"

"To kill that bastard before he hurts someone else," Grell sneered at the demon, glaring at Raven as he turned his head and stared into his red eyes. "Why? Don't like the _idea~~_?"

"Nah," Raven chuckled. "It's just amusing." Grell shook his head and continued down the street, winding through the streets till he came upon the pub. "I should warn you little reaper that if he calls upon me then I must do his bidding. That's the agreement I agreed with –"

"Fine **demon**," Grell huffed, "but stay out of my way."

Then Raven roughly grabbed his arm, pushing him into his master's room before gently closing the door behind him. "_Aw~ boy_," the old man greeted the boy before shoving Grell into the door. "Pathetic weasel," he growled, trying to overpower him with his height. "Thinking you can just leave –"

"Get off of me!" Grell yelled, slashing at his arm and pushing the old man off of him.

"AAAAHH!" the man screamed, holding his bleeding shoulder as he fell to the ground. "RAVEN! DEMON –" he yelped, being gagged by a piece of cloth Grell had ripped from his shirt.

"Pathetic human," Grell spat in the man's face, raising up his scythe and embedding it into the man's chest. He screamed in pain as Grell only glared back, a devious grin starting to appear on his face. "You jerk, bastard," Grell snickered, shoving the scythe deeper and deeper into the man's chest and watching him scream and die under him. "Die! Damn it die!" he yelled, raising his scythe again and throwing it back into the man's chest again and again. Blood splattered on Grell's face as he growled with irritation, watching as the man's eyes began to flicker close.

)(*&^%$#!

**A/N: Okay I will confess, I got that idea from Kuroshitsuji II with Alois and his past. DON'T HATE ME! Wah! *hides in corner*Plus I didn't come up with this till AFTER a lot of people were requesting for our little demon to show up, so don't blame me. I'm simply the author and… okay blame me. Whatever. It creates a tragic story _yes~?_ XD Well I hope you've enjoyed this chapter, and yes I'm leaving you with another cliffhanger. I tend to do that a lot I seems ^^**

Leon – Greek – lion


	9. The Devil

Kuroshitsuji © Yana Toboso

OCs © reaper-of-lost-souls

**A/N: And after you long waiting (which probably wasn't as long as the last time ^^') You get to see what happens to Grell. Excited? I am! It was fun writing this =D So… ENJOY!**

!#$%^&*()

The investigations for the night were taking longer than normal for the young shinigami. Even though he has been a supervisor for many years there is always one night that seems longer then the most. Luckily he was towards the end of his soul's list, three more souls and he was done. He had hoped to arrive back home to his son to tuck him in for the night, but alas he couldn't once again. The shinigami sighed, tilting his black rimmed glasses and running a black glove through his black hair. The days always seemed longer without his wife around.

He finally made his way to the pub where his next soul would die. He had to be careful though. His investigations every week was sure that demons were luring about the area and smart ones too. He had come across plenty of souls already that had been contracted to demons, and that was why he was given the list he has. It was his job, for many years, to go after souls suspected of being contracted. It was hard, made the work impossible, but he couldn't think of any other way. He made the effort to educate his son in demons and their ways, knowing in the back of his mind that his son would never want to do the dirty jobs he's been forced to do. Another sigh. He could never question his job. He was a shinigami, a death god, destined to reap and evaluate souls till the day he dies.

Opening the door he ventured into the bar, keeping his eyes off of the drunkards in the corners drinking themselves half blind. He wasn't there for them, but only for one soul. Walking into the back he ventured up the stairs, walking calmly and quietly as to not make a sound to alert humans of his presence. He took a right and walked to the room he was looking for, RM 01. He turned the knob and the door didn't open, the shinigami raising an eyebrow at this. His suspicions were right; a demon was at work here.

Thrusting the door open he stared inside, noticing the dead human on the ground and a bookshelf slammed down to the ground in haste. There was a hidden window, the curtains flying as if it was pulled open. He looked down to the human and frowned, noticing his soul had already been taken. Not only that, but he had been killed with a death scythe; he could tell by the markings. This job was going to be harder then he thought, he sighed again. Then he huffed, walking over to the window and looking out. He saw a flash of black and red disappearing over the top of a roof, the shinigami feeling the scent of demon in that general direction. "That's right demon," he snarled, "run while you can. I'll hunt you down." He looked at his watch as he stepped outside the window and took off. He had five minutes before the demon completely digested the soul. He would have to be quick.

!#$%^&*()

)(*&^%$#!

Grell stood back, watching as the man whom violated him breathed his last breath and died in front of him. He sighed, not feeling satisfaction or regret, but absolute nothingness. He didn't care, he knew he only wanted revenge, but even as he obtained it he felt something was missing. That human took something from him and he could never get it back… he was only a weak child. He glared, noticing the presence of the demon lurking back into the room and gliding past him.

"I never expected you to finish him off _so brutally~_" Raven chuckled, leaning over the man's body. "… So, shinigami, do you plan on fighting for this soul –"

"No I could care less," Grell snarled. "He took something from me and I can never get it back… I don't care anymore."

"_Well~_ if you don't want to see me feed then leave," Raven told him. Grell only stared him down, looking at the old lifeless body on the ground. Raven shrugged and went about his work, ignoring the gaze Grell was giving him.

Grell gulped, his hands beginning to shiver as he watched the demon. His nails turned into talons, teeth turning sharp and dangerous. His eyes began to glow a combination of pink and red; his raven hair turning wild in the air. The air turned mucky and dense, making it hard to breath. Raven pulled off his left glove and Grell gasped, seeing the symbol of the demon's contract on his hand. There were two circles: the outer circle containing small diamond points, and the inner circle containing a pentagram. The inner circle contained writing and symbols, but Grell didn't have any knowledge on what they could mean. The symbol glowed as the demon opened his mouth, his teeth bearing as he exhaled deeply. Then Grell noticed something, a raven sitting perched in the corner of the room watching them. Raven leaned into the man's neck and sank his claws into the man's chest, eating his flesh and drinking his blood. Grell winced, unable to pull his eyes away as if he was under a hypnotic spell. He watched as the cinematic records were drawn out of the man's body and circled around them, the breathing of the demon sending the records in the direction of the demon's mouth. Hearing gnawing and slurping sounds Raven devoured the soul, the man laying frightened with his eyes looking up at the demon. Raven closed the man's eyes and stood up, looking over at Grell and wiping the blood that began to drip from his lips.

Grell didn't know what to say; only hearing stories of demons eating souls, but never before witnessing the event. Here he was standing a few feet from the demon he had come to name Raven. He didn't know if he was horrified or astonished, still rattled up from the events that lead up to this moment. He had never seen blood in this manner before, crimson red flowing out from the man's body and turning the rotten wood red. It was a delicious feeling to watch and he was the one to cause it! They looked up to hear shuffling from the outside, both of them feeling the presence of a powerful being making their way to the door. "Reaper," Raven hissed, grabbing Grell's hand and pulling him away from the door. "Here let's escape," the demon told him, shoving the bookshelf onto the ground and opening up a hidden window in the room, "… what?"

"… W-why are you helping me –"

"You're rattled up," the demon snickered, "and I figured I'll push you along till you come to your senses. _Besides~_ it's fun to watch those expressions on your face. I would have thought a shinigami would be disgusted by the sight of a demon feeding, but you look utterly _**delighted~**_ to watch me. Perhaps you're made to be a demon instead?" Raven suggested, pulling Grell out the window and into the open air.

)(*&^%$#!

!#$%^&*()

The boys had been searching for hours, but couldn't find Grell. Eventually they all retreated back to the building, deciding to continue the search in the morning. There was a gloomy cloud hanging on every one of them. Sure, they have seen other children die, but to them Grell was their mother. He was there every day to give them encouragement when they went to work and was there every night when they got back to feed them and make sure they were well. The sharp smile the red-headed boy always had on his face brightened up their days, making most of them feel better about the situation they were now in. Some grew up on the streets; others were forced to live in the streets. However it happened Grell was a blessing to them and the joy they experienced every day with his presence hadn't been there the whole day. Without Grell they couldn't call the run downed building home, only a vital reminiscence of the dead children that pass on every night.

David sighed as he sat next to Essie, the little girl clinging to his arm as they sat next to the fire. They hadn't talked to each other since David left to look for Grell, none of them unable to sleep as they hoped Grell would show up in the middle of the night to greet them with a smile. "… I want to go home," Essie sniffled, hugging her finished doll in her hands as she whimpered from the cold.

"I wish we could," David sighed, "but our relatives kicked us out remember? It was either here or an orphanage and you know how those are like back home."

"I-I know," she sniffled, "b-but… but I don't want to stay if Mommy Grell doesn't come back."

"Don't worry," he tried to comfort her, "he'll come back. It's only a matter of time. If he was going to leave so suddenly he would have told us, right? All we can do is waiting for him to turn up."

Essie nodded and leaned into her brother's shoulder. "Yes," she sighed, "but I want him back." David ran a finger through her hair, knowing that his words weren't doing the little girl any good. All he could do was pulling her close to him and hug her tightly, hoping that Grell was safe and will come back to them in one piece.

!#$%^&*()

)(*&^%$#!

Once they were a good distance away Raven threw Grell onto the roof, the demon letting out a sigh as he looked behind him. His demon form was starting to take over him, since his contract had ended only a few minutes ago. Once he was done digesting the soul he would be back as a full-fledged demon, able to eat whatever dying soul he saw in front of him. Luckily for him there was a beautiful specimen right in front of him, lying on the ground panting for air and quickly getting to his feet. "R-raven wha –"

"Hush now," he pressed a finger to the little reaper's lips, causing a chill to go down Grell's spine. "I have a question for you." Leaning against a chimney he eyed the reaper suspiciously, hiding the hungry look in his eyes behind his raven hair. "What does a little shinigami plan to accomplish here? Are you trying to prove something to the world? Tired of your society perhaps?"

"I-I don't know," Grell looked down to the ground, rubbing his arm as it continued to sting in pain.

"_Hmmm~_" the demon said, his red eyes piercing into Grell's green eyes as he began to circle around him like a vulture discovering a carcass on the ground. "_I see~~_"

Grell clutched the scythe closer to his body, unsure as to what Raven's intentions were as he felt his ravenous glare upon him. "I guess you could say that," Grell shrugged, "t-that I'm tired of living with the shinigamis, b-but –" Grell yelped, claws wrapping around the collar of his shirt and pulling him closer to the demon.

He gasped, Raven's body slowly growing taller as he grinned at him. "You know a little shinigami like yourself won't last a few more days here," Raven told him.

"W-what do you mean?" Grell frowned, trying to pull away from his grasp as they stared into each other's eyes.

"For one you're not very strong to start out with," the demon explained, "and _perhaps~_ you can take on a few weaklings, but you can never take on a group of demons like myself. You're also injured with poison, and by the looks of things the infection is spreading up your arm and will be in your internal organs in a few more days… I'll give it a week tops."

"W-why are you telling me this –"

"Little reaper," he paused letting a chuckle escape his lips as he realized that his whole question would be considered a joke to others. "Little reaper," he continued again, "I always wanted to know, what would happen if I contracted myself to a lost supernatural being like _yourself~_"

"M-me?" Grell bit his bottom lip, looking to the ground trying to avoid eye contact.

"You see, I'm _bored~_ with the mediocre meals and thought perhaps a nice change would be pleasing," he grinned, "or a good mental challenge for myself. Besides you have a _beautiful~_ soul that has been tormented for _**years~**_. Don't you want revenge against those who have punched you, kicked you to the floor, and call you worthless scum? _Hmmmm~?_"

A gulp went down Grell's throat as he realized the demon's **true** intention. "I-I may have thought about it, but –"

"Then how about a contract with me?" Raven smirked, grabbing Grell's right hand with his left and pressing him up against the chimney. He grinned wider as the shinigami began to tremble, fear washing over Grell as he heard the words of a contract. "You can finally have that revenge you have been hoping for, a chance to prove your worth as a shinigami –"

"Thanks but no," Grell growled, pushing the demon's hands off of him and shoving Raven away. "That is **not** a way to solve a problem. A contract with a demon, _pa~leassse~_. I wouldn't accomplish **anything** that way: revenge, acceptance, respect. I can only do those things myself," he huffed, "I **know** that."

"Fine have it your way," the demon huffed, grabbing hold of Grell's neck and began to suffocate him, "I'll just kill you." Grell whimpered under Raven's grasp, feeling claws starting to dig into his neck as he tried to strangle him to death.

Grell knew one thing; a demon couldn't just kill him by his powers alone. They would need a death scythe, which Grell realized he still had it in his left hand. Narrowing his eyes he swung the scythe at the demon's face, swatting him away as the demon screamed and dropped Grell to the ground. He quickly sneaked past him and back out into the open, standing at the edge of the roof as he glare at the demon. "Your fault is letting me get so far ahead in your little game," Grell huffed, gripping the scythe tightly and waiting for the demon's next move.

"You filthy wrench!" Raven hissed, charging at Grell and raising his claws at him. "I'll kill you for that!" he yelled as his adult size overpowered Grell and caused the boy to fall off of the roof to avoid his strike. Grell took off in a run, not getting far as the demon appeared in front of him and cut off his exit. Grell ran the other way and was immediately stopped by the demon, becoming backed up against an alley wall as the demon began to laugh. "Not so tough, _are you~?_" he smirked, swatting at Grell as he did the best he could avoiding the demon.

Grell flinched as the talons came at his face, holding the scythe up in defense since he was unable to avoid the demon no longer. Then he paused, expecting his face to be ripped apart, but instead felt a piece of rough cloth graze his face. He opened his eyes widely as he began to breathe again, panting deeply as he was hidden away by the figure in front of him. "_My, my~_. What's a little fly doing here?" he heard snickering from the being in front of him, the demon growling at the presence shielding the boy from harm.

"_**Shinigami~~**_" Raven growled, taking a few steps back and getting ready to strike. "…" The demon took off into the night, noticing the shinigami's power and not wanting to get himself killed quite yet.

The shinigami began to chuckle, his chuckle turning into little giggles as Grell shuffled out from behind him and looked up. "U-undertaker?" Grell bit down his bottom lip, "W-what are you doing –"

"You seemed to have gotten yourself into trouble, _again~_, so I figured you'd need some assistance," Undertaker snickered at the boy, unable to control his laughter as Grell began to frown.

"I-I don't **want** your help," Grell huffed. He turned to leave, but was stopped by a glove gripping his arm tightly and causing him to wince.

"You are not going _**anywhere~**_" Undertaker responded in a stern tone. "That demon is too powerful for a little shinigami like you –"

"I don't care!" Grell yelled as he pulled his arm away. "This is just a little game to him and he took everything from me! I won't leave it alone till he's gone! I won't let him hurt anyone else!" Grell took a few cautious steps back, biting down on his bottom lip as he fought back tears. "… j-just don't follow me. Don't help me. I can do this on my own..." Then he took off, leaving the legendary shingiami behind and rubbing his eyes in an attempt to stop the tears from flowing.

)(*&^%$#!

The shinigami huffed as he lost the demon's scent, noticing the smell of shinigami with it. So a shinigami has been running around is in cahoots with a demon? The man sighed; annoyed that he had to do more work than necessary. Feeling a stronger demon aura then before, he took off towards the feeling. He couldn't see the demon anywhere, but he could feel him coming closer to him. Then a claw came at him out of nowhere, attempting to rip off his head as the black talons ripped at him. He flinched and held up his scythe, only to hear a thump in front of him as a small body stood in the way.

"Damn it!" Grell coughed up blood as he held his chest, "You leave him alone!"

"_Oh~?_" Raven smirked, "coming after me little reaper? That's right. Make your blood boil. It'll only make your soul more _delicious~_ when I devour you."

Grell yelled and jumped after the demon, slashing and hacking at him the best he could. He used whatever he could grab, swinging a long wooden pole at the demon's head and throwing him off to the side. Once the demon lay on the ground did Grell actually notice he was bleeding, a long slash across his shoulder and leading down to the other side of his body. It was deep, and as he walked towards the demon did he start to notice red eyes coming upon him from up above. "Shit," he cursed, walking sluggishly over to the demon as it laid on the ground. Raven groaned as he regained conscious, a grin growing as he noticed the demons gathering around them. Then he took off without any warning, Grell yelling at him as he chased after him. That's when the other demons took off after them, the smell of the young shinigami's blood too strong for them to handle as they tried to grab for his soul. Grell kept a keen eye on the demon, his eyes narrowing as he dashed after him. The two were so fast that Grell hadn't noticed he was passing by humans and shinigamis, everything a blur as he kept a determined glare on the demon. He wouldn't let the demon leave his sight for a minute, unknowing of the pursuers he had right behind him.

Raven began to slow down as they came towards the Thames, the demon jumping onto a bridge with Grell closely behind him. With a swipe of the demon's hand the end of the bridge came tumbling down, Grell running faster to avoid the debris and looking over at the demon shocked. "You still have time to make a deal with me," the demon grinned, "you'll die otherwise."

"I don't care," Grell growled. "I refuse to die till you're rotting on the ground dead!"

Grell yelled at the demon and swung his scythe, the demon jumping in the air to avoid him. Grell saw through this and threw his scythe up in the air, the demon quickly avoiding the blade with the beat of his large black wings. Grell jumped forwards and grabbed the scythe as it came back down, the demon flapping down and perching behind him. Grell ran as fast as he could and yelled, using his hand to grab hold of the demon's scarf and slashing the scythe in front of him. Raven was unable to avoid the shinigami's determination as it slashed him in the chest, his hand grabbing hold of Grell's shirt as they held each other from falling. "_Youuuu~_" it hissed, glaring into Grell's eyes and trying to stare him down.

Grell could only stare back, knowing one move will cause him to fall backwards into the cold river. They looked over and saw the demons coming closer to them, jumping onto the bridge and making their way to where they stood. Then Raven smirked, pulling on Grell's shirt and whispered into his ear. "See you later little shinigami," the demon said, "and the next time we meet I will _devour~_ _you~~_"

"Not unless I find you_** first~**_" Grell smirked back at him, gasping as the demon let go of his shirt. Grell braced himself as he fell into the river, his body sinking like a rock as he floated down to the bottom. Raven sighed as he ran a hand through his black raven hair, turning around as the other demons leaned over the edge and frowned as their meal disappeared into the murky waters below.

)(*&^%$#!

**A/N: If you haven't noticed yet, that little demon is supposed to be Sebastian *gasp* =O … XD Anyways… are you enjoying yourself? =D Oh, and that shinigami at the end is supposed to be Mr. Spears, if you didn't notice that. (Or that's the intention. If you didn't get that then that's okay ^^) **


	10. The Assist

Kuroshitsuji © Yana Toboso

OCs © reaper-of-lost-souls

**A/N: BAM ANOTHER CHAPTER! I hope I didn't startle you TOO much… okay I'm glad XD Just no more worries now, since the cliff hanger is over… for the most part. Well as always ENJOY!**

!#$%^&*()

The shinigami gulped, seeing a flash of red stand in front of him and save him from a vicious blow to the chest. If that child hadn't showed up he would have been died, leaving little William without a father and alone in this damp world. He let out shaky gasps as he tried to compose himself and snap back to his senses, unable to find strength as his death scythe dropped to the ground beside him.

"Mr. Spears!" a fellow shinigami called to him, dashing over to him and shaking him. "Mr. Spears come on! The demon has fled and – Spears?..."

"I-I'm alright," he sighed as he shook the chilling sensation of death off of his shoulders and looked over at the other man with a smile, "I am fine…"

The shingiami helped him off of the ground and grabbed his death scythe for him, bringing him along down the road towards the other shinigamis that waited for them. "What happened to Mr. Spears?" one of them frowned.

"I-I'm not sure," the other frowned, "but regardless where are the demons now?"

"They all took off to the river," the other explained, "which was very peculiar. We ran in and took all of them out except for the ones who could swim and fly away fleeing from us."

"I see…" the shingiami sighed, "Well I'll take Spears back. He's shaking and won't talk to me."

"How irregular," the other nodded in understand, watching as the shinigami took Mr. Spears through a portal and disappeared from their sights. "… Where's Undertaker?"

"He disappeared and hasn't come back yet –"

"_Oh you're looking for me~?_" Undertaker appeared behind them, a few of the shinigamis jumping back startled at the threatening presence before them.

"Y-yes," the shinigami shook as he coughed and tried to compel himself in front of the legend. "… Did you find that being that is holding one of our death scythes?"

"Not at all," the Undertaker lied, a wide grin upon his face that made the other shinigami shudder. "By the way," he said changing the subject, "did we lose anyone tonight?"

"Nope," he answered, "but Mr. Spears is shaking over something –"

"Ah alright," Undertaker nodded, "then give me his soul's list and I'll complete it for him."

"B-but sir –"

"That's an order," Undertaker told him casually, "and if anyone asks I'll be showing up back to work at midnight." The shinigami nodded and sighed, nodding to the rest of them as they took off to leave legend to his work.

!#$%^&*()

)(*&^%$#!

One of the young children emerged early for the day, taking on Grell's responsibility for making breakfast for the other children. When they made it to the river they gasped, running back to the building to wake everyone up. "T-there's a dead body in the water!" the child screamed, the older children running down to the water to investigate.

A few of them gasped, trudging into the water and pulling the dead body out. "G-grell?" a girl quivered her bottom lip, noticing the bright red hair and torn up clothes the young body had on.

David pushed through the crowd and grabbed Grell, quickly noticing the wound on his chest as he bit down on his bottom lip. "H-he may still be alive," he shivered slightly, "but he needs some air." The children moved away from him as he examined Grell, noticing his breathing had stopped, but his heart was still beating. "Come on Grell," he growled as he tried all he could to wake him up, "you can't die on us right now. Come on! Wake up!"

He shook him till he heard a soft mumble, the eyes turning to the body as Grell coughed up blood. "O-wie…" Grell groaned, gripping his chest tightly in agonizing pain as he felt warm blood coming back out of his chest.

"Quick bring him inside!" David told the other children, a group of them grabbing Grell's body and pulling him into the building. Grell laid on the ground whimpering to himself, unable to keep his eyes open for a second longer. "I-it's alright," David talked to him as Grell's eyelids began to flicker, "I'll keep you safe." Unable to keep his eyes open Grell fell into a deep slumber, his hand gripping tightly into his bag for the wet doll that lay inside.

)(*&^%$#!

"My goodness Grell," David sighed as he finished wrapping his chest. Grell winced as the other boy poked his wound, clutching his doll tightly to his side. "… What happened?"

"I-I don't want to talk about it," Grell pouted, "just… no. You should go to sleep. You have to work tomorrow." David nodded and gave him a gentle pat on the back, leaving Grell sitting on his blanket with his doll clutched in his arms. Grell looked around at all the children and sighed, unable to sleep as he felt pain rippling throughout his whole body. He stood up and left the building, leaning against the wall next to the trash as he curled up as a tiny ball on the ground. He began to quietly sob to himself, rocking back and forth as he tried to calm himself down.

There was pain everywhere, reaching from the top of his head to the bottom of his toes. Grell didn't know what hurt more: the physical pain he was feeling from the deep gash in his chest, the infection in his arm, the bruise he had gotten when he fell into the water, or the metal pain he was experiencing inside of his mind. He had just given up himself to a filthy old human! Wha… was he now a whore? He knew it would have been either him of that Leon kid, but still… he felt sick to his stomach. Angry, frustration filled his mind, but yet killing the old gnat still didn't seem enough. Grell sighed; he let his anger get the better of him. That's why he ended up with this pain in his chest… but he couldn't let the demon escape without showing it whose boss… right? He sniffled, wiping the tears from his face with the back of his sleeve before pressing his face into his doll's chest. He was all alone now and the only thing standing between him and Death was these children he had sworn to protect. Grell coughed into his hand, wondering if his decision to keep the children safe would only be for nothing. He couldn't stand not knowing, pressing his head between his knees and continuing to cry.

"G-grell?" he heard a voice next to him, his eyes looking up in horror to see Essie walking towards him with a frown on her face. "G-grell… you…" she sniffled, rubbing her eyes as she tried to keep herself from crying. "I-I… if this is a bad time –"

"No it's quite alright," Grell told her, ushering her over and letting her sit down next to him. "… Something on your mind?"

"Y-you could say that," Essie answered him, looking up to the being sitting next to her. Her lip quivered, noticing how puffy and tired Grell's eyes were. She gently grabbed for his arm, bringing it down from his knee and setting her head upon it. She closed her eyes and began to cry quietly, her small hands wrapping around his arm and refusing to let him go. "M-mommy…" she sniffled, gripping her doll tightly as she kept a firm grip on Grell, "I-I'm glad you're back."

Grell didn't look at the child, only heard her silently sob next to him. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer to him, pulling her into a tight hug as he held back tears. "I-t's alright Essie," he told her, "I won't leave you… not ever."

"V-vous promettre?" she looked up her face turning puffy from the tears that fell down her cheek.

He smiled and wiped the tears from her eyes, causing Essie to smile back at him. "I promise," Grell grinned, "that I will not leave you till the day you pass away from this earth." Essie nodded and giggled, setting her head back on his arm and holding him tightly. She let out a yawn and closed her eyes, the warmth radiating from him soothing her to sleep. Grell looked down at the girl and ran a hand through her light brunette hair and chuckled lightly. No, this all wasn't for nothing and if he could let even this little child live on then he couldn't even let Death stop him now.

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!#$%^&*()

"F-father?" William knocked on the door of his father's office, cautiously walking inside and standing at the door. He moved the new broad-circular glasses on his nose nervously, rubbing his shoulder as he stared at the shinigami sitting at the office desk. "W-will you be coming for dinner tonight?"

"No," he answered him, not giving him a proper answer in William's mind.

"Why not?" William frowned. "I-I thought you said you would come home today –"

"I-I'm sorry William," he sighed, "but there is a lot of work to get done –"

"It's only work with you isn't it!" William huffed. "You don't come home anymore! Not since… since mother… I was at least hoping you'd come home to dinner like you always do…" He sighed as he turned around, putting his hands into his pockets and began to walk down the hallway.

His father looked up and down casted his eyes, ashamed for his stiffness. "Wait William," he said in a whisper, the boy peeking his head back into the office with a cheerless look on his face.

The man stood up and disorderly shoved the papers on his desk into a briefcase, William hesitantly walking back into the room confused. "F-father?" William questioned his actions, "W-what are you –"

"I can finish the paperwork at home," he huffed. William's eyes lit up as his father threw his coat over his shoulders and walked to the door, ushering the boy out the door and locking the office behind him. "Come William," his father said as he grabbed hold of William's hand, "let's go home." William held a wide smile on his face, his enthusiasm going through the roof. For his father to think of him before work… well it was unusual in his mind. Something must have happened today, but he didn't have the heart to ask him. He will take the simple jester of the love his father was giving him and took it to heart, hoping the feeling of glee wouldn't leave him as they walked down the white painted hallway.

!#$%^&*()

)(*&^%$#!

Grell kept his back pressed up against the wall, unable to move as he gripped the death scythe in his hand tightly. Everything in his body hurt and it took extra efforts to even move his legs let alone hold the scythe in his hand. Regardless he wanted to stand guard, his green shinigami eyes cold and narrow, showing no signs of joy as he watched late bystanders walk by in the gloomy streets of London. He quickly saw movement, noticing a demon rushing by trying to get into the secured building. Grell ran after it and let out a battle cry, his arm irritating him as he slashed the demon in half. Once another came into his sights he ran after that one, then another, then another…

As time went on his infected arm became more inflamed, making Grell bit his lip in pain as he slashed the demons into two. Panting he leaned up against the wall of an alley, gripping his arm tightly as his chest was unable to keep up with his actions. The demons stopped coming then, but the pain in his arm was becoming too great for him to keep unnoticed. Grell slammed his arm against the wall, holding it still with his foot as he held up his scythe to it. He breathed heavily, knowing the sting would be great and could possibly kill him, but he couldn't take the pain anymore and threw the blade of the scythe into his arm. Grell closed his eyes as his hand lowered onto his arm, gritting his teeth in pain waiting to let out a scream.

He paused, feeling a firm grip on his arm as the force of the grip caused Grell to drop the scythe. Grell turned around and gasped, seeing dark green and yellow eyes upon him. "NO LET ME GO!" he cried out, trying to force the shinigami to let go of him as his knees gave out and he laid hanging above the ground. He growled with irritation as the man only held him, his infected arm lying limp on his body.

"I never thought you would actually do it," the Undertaker huffed, wiggling Grell's arm as Grell tried to pull away from him. "I thought you were stronger –"

"Well I'm not!" Grell yelled at him, tears streaming down his face and falling to the ground. "I'm only a child! Now let me go! –"

"No," he hissed roughly, "not until you _promise~_ you won't hurt yourself with the death scythe."

Grell bit down on his bottom lip and looked away, the Undertaker letting out a sigh and pressing the boy up against the wall. With one swipe of his finger Grell watched as the death scythe on the ground flew into the older shinigami's hand, the man setting it down on a nearby box before turning his attention back to the boy. "W-what are you doing here anyways?" Grell grumbled under his breath. "I asked you to leave me alone and you won't? What type of old man are you –"

"Grell Sutcliff, have you _ever~_ been taught to respect your elders?" Undertaker said in a deep voice, causing Grell to close his mouth and look up at him with a glare in his eyes. "… Now if you're done _yelling~_ I brought something for your arm." Grell blinked in confusion as the man's free hand went into his coat, the Undertaker pulling out a jar of weird orange glowing glop. "If you put this on your wounds then you'll heal faster… but for the infection on your arm I'll have to physically cut open your arm to get rid of the poison –"

"W-what? How do you know –"

"I do _other~_ things then just reap little boy," he snickered, setting the jar down on the box beside them before leering over Grell. "… I can't exactly stay in the shadows any longer if you're going to do something drastic like chop off your own limbs. If anything, let a _professional~_ do that," Undertaker grinned, a chill going down Grell's spine as he stared up at him. "Now will you be compliant or will I have to tie you up?" Grell didn't give him an answer, only glaring up at the Undertaker as he felt the grip around his arm loosen. He cursed under his breath as the shinigami released him, still unsure if he should trust him. Then again, didn't he save him more than once? There should be a reason why he shouldn't trust the legend's words, but yet he was still afraid. He had never been this cowardly before, but because of the events that had transpired earlier Grell was getting weary of this game the older man was playing. Deciding he had no choice he unbuttoned his coat and shirt, setting them to the side as he exposed his multiple bandages to the Undertaker. The Undertaker smiled at the boy's decision, turning Grell as he found the end of his bandages and began to untie them.

He hummed a small-bouncy tune to himself, Grell raising an eyebrow as he watched the Undertaker unwrap his bandages. As Undertaker began to uncover his skin did the man really see all the battle scars the little boy had. Grell had faint healing scars all over him, probably dating back years back before he even thought about running away. There were more scabs and bruises on the boy's body, fading down his stomach and disappearing into the pants he was wearing. If it were any other boy they would have complained about all the scars the boy had gotten, but not Grell. No, he kept the news of his wounds hidden until he was forced into the infirmary for one reason or another. Undertaker discarded the pathetic excuse of bandages to the ground and pulled out a big black bag he had hidden under his robe, Grell raising an eyebrow as the man set the bag down and rummaged through its contents. "Now bite down on this and be careful with your teeth," Undertaker told him in a stern, but calm tone. "Say _awwww~_" he stuck his tongue out, Grell shaking his head at the man's face and stuck out his tongue. The man took a small piece of cloth and pressed it on the top and bottom of Grell's tongue, his tongue retreating back into his mouth as the man went back to rummaging through his bag. Undertaker took out a clean cloth and set it on the box, taking out various tools he'd need: cloth, clean bandages, a needle with thread, scissors, water, and a spoon. Then he untwisted the cap of the jar and set it aside, placing the spoon inside and putting his attention back on Grell. "Hold still and try not to squirm," he told the boy, Grell clutching his eyes closed and waiting for the pain come back. Undertaker chuckled, the boy cracking his eyes open as he watched the shinigami grab the scissors. "You don't have to be so serious," he snickered, Grell grumbling under his breath till the man grabbed hold of his infected arm. Grell closed his eyes and waiting for a pain in his arm, gritting his teeth tightly as he felt the scissors rip into his arm.

Undertaker worked as fast as he could, knowing that the boy's wound could heal back up before he was done. He grabbed the water and flushed out the goop from the boy's arm, cleaning the wound with cloth before washing it out again. He started to hear the boy screaming in pain, trying the best he could to keep his voice quiet as blood began to trickle down from his mouth. "_Calm down~_" he giggled, "I'm almost done." Still taking his time he cleaned out the water and grabbed the orange goo from the jar, gently patting it down with the spoon and spreading it around his cut and throughout the redness along his arm. Grell's eyes flickered from the cool feeling on his arm, a different feel from the pain he had been experiencing for the past months. Once he was done Undertaker set the spoon back into the jar, grabbing his needle and thread and threading the wound closed. Everything he did would only be temporary, but if Grell had any wits then he'd know to not overwork his arm for a while. Grell opened his eyes and watched the Undertaker, the man threading his wound closed and pulling tightly with his teeth before tying everything off. He set a piece of cloth on his wound before grabbing the bandages, wrapping them around his arm and placing his arm into a tight cast. "_My, my~_" the Undertaker giggled lightly to himself, "I would have thought a little lad would have screamed from the pain."

Grell blinked at the man's comment before a smile graced his mouth, the boy using his other hand to pull the cloth from his mouth and let his tongue roam free. "Well I'm not like other _lads~_ I suppose," he huffed, the older man giggling at the boy once he was done wrapping him up. "Now thanks but –"

"I'm not done yet," Undertaker stopped him, pressing a hand against the top of the boy's chest and causing him to halt. "I still need to wrap your chest." Grell sighed and went back against the wall, using the wall to keep himself upright as the shinigami went back to cleaning up his wounds. The only major wounds the boy had would be the one on his arm and one on his chest, both caused by demons. You can never know with demons if they had poison on the tips of their claws or not, so Undertaker kept that thought in mind as he went back to his supplies and took out water. He flushed the caked blood on the boy's chest, Grell wincing at the sting. Wiping his chest dry with cloth, he took out the orange goo and pressed it against his chest, a shudder escaping Grell's voice as he coated his wound with the medicine. "You know this is only temporary," the Undertaker explained, "and if not treated properly then you may develop scars and even develop problems using your body properly –"

"Okay fine," Grell huffed, "and I'm alright with that."

"I'm guessing you're not going back yet?" Undertaker asked, beginning to wrap his chest with bandages as Grell let out a sigh.

"Yep –"

"Good," the man snickered. "It's always fun to watch you every night… and you're welcome by the way."

"W-with what? –"

"Do you think your body would have been able to float **up** stream without any _assistance~_?" Undertaker smirked, the smile of his face suddenly diminishing as he finished up with the bandage and tied it off. "Do be careful boy. There's only so much a shinigami can take. We don't last forever."

"I-I know," Grell sighed as he grabbed his shirt and buttoned it back on, "b-but I made a promise I want to keep."

"Oh?" the man asked, suddenly becoming intrigued with the boy's words. "_What promise~?_"

"A promise to myself," Grell explained as he put his clothes back on, "that I would keep the souls inside of that building safe. A promise to a little human girl that I will stay with her till she dies… that's really the gist of it." He sighed, leaning against the wall and gently putting a hand against his chest. "I-I don't know… this whole running away thing is pretty silly, but what can I do? I can't go back to the shinigami realm… I have nowhere to return to. You said it yourself; I will be put to death if I go back. So why should I? It will be better to save human souls from demons till it kills me, even if it's only a little fragment of the bigger picture… that's all." He looked over at the legendary shinigami as he put his things away, hiding them back into his robes with a grin on his face. "… I doubt you understand," Grell sighed again, "since you said you're only watching me because I'm _amusing~_. Well… I guess I am aren't I, but I just want to find a place. I can't find it with shinigamis so why not here? And yes, I know interfering with humans is a bad thing, but I don't care. There's no rules that says I can't… right?"

"There's probably **some** rule you're breaking," the Undertaker shrugged, "but I never cared for the rules; made up by a bunch of snobby shinigamis to make everything difficult for the rest of us. All we have to do is come to earth and reap a human soul, that's it. It is our job and nothing more. These excess things, rules and regulations, are nothing more than nescience placed by the council in my opinion."

"Huh," Grell thought to himself as he staggered over to the box and grabbed his death scythe. "I didn't know there were others who thought that way," he snickered lightly.

"_Well~_ there's not a lot of shinigamis out there who think like me," Undertaker chuckled before letting out a sigh. "I'm old. I think you can figure that out by now… I've been here for eons and all I've been doing is work, work, and more work. This lifestyle… I'm getting old for this game of cat and mouse. That's why I find watching you amusing. You keep me entertained," the man snickered.

Grell cracked a smile, starting to see past the tough exterior the council had placed the man in and seeing the soft, insane interior the man truly had. Not all shinigmais are as they seem, as humans aren't always as they seem. He had always known this, but seeing the Undertaker act differently than he had anticipated was changing his view on the world. Yes, perhaps the shinigamis has rules he dislikes, but that doesn't mean he can't bend them a bit. If this old shinigami can do it and be legendary why can't he? He'd have to rethink things a little, but for now he'd stay. He owed it to at least to Essie to stay till she died, then perhaps he'd think of returning… maybe… "Thank you Undertaker," Grell smiled, "I-I hope I see you again."

"You'll _always~_ see me," the man smirked, "You only have to **look**." Grell snickered at Undertaker's comment, watching as he disappeared and vanished into a portal. Grell let out a sigh, turning around and heading back for the rundown building, the place where he will always call home.

)(*&^%$#!

**A/N: Oh wow William? Didn't think you'd see him huh? XD Well anyways this was just the little conclusion to the demon fiasco. Now we're back to the plot in the next chapter, but if you still have OC requests say them now! I may have room for more, but that depends on your OC of course ^^ Anyways I hope you've enjoyed this. BYE!**

_vous promettre_ – French – _you promise_


	11. The Loss

Kuroshitsuji © Yana Toboso

OCs © reaper-of-lost-souls

**A/N: Meh I'm bored and running into a writer's block, so I'll review another chapter I suppose ^^ (plus I've had a LOT more time than I thought, so since I don't know what to do with it I'll just review chapters XD) Well get ready for more problems for little Grell. He seems to be running into trouble again, or perhaps trouble is running into him =O ENJOY!**

!#$%^&*()

"I can't believe your arm is improving," David chuckled as he sat down next to Grell as he poured a bowl of soup and sat next to him.

"Yeah I can't believe it either," Grell smiled happily. "It's only been… what a week? My chest wound is all healed up and my arm is coming back together. I may be able to start working. Can you believe that!"

"Y-yeah, work…" David sighed scratching the back of his neck. "Listen, there was something a bunch of us who wanted to say something to you… s-since you're feeling better and all."

"Hmmm?" Grell looked over at him with curiosity.

"I… us I mean," David coughed, "We all like having you stay around every day. Honestly I'd prefer you stayed around and kept watching over the kids, but hey if you want to go work there's no reason to stop you –"

"I didn't know you guys felt that way," he chuckled slightly before letting out a sigh and scratching the back of his head. "You see David," Grell decided to explain, "I'm feel useless when I have to stay here all day. Sure I cook the meals, but I'm not earning anything. You guys are all providing for me and I want to earn my keep here –"

"But you **do** Grell," David sighed. "You do Grell… you're like a mother to all of us. Okay, maybe you don't earn money, but you keep everyone happy and smiling. I've seen you tuck a few of the children in at night if they were homesick or scared of the dark. You stay up Grell, all night… and I've heard you fighting right outside the door. I don't know what goes on out there, but knowing you're around to protect all of us lets me sleep easy every night… okay Grell? So you're not useless around here. We all love you very much."

"W-wow," Grell chuckled nervously, "I-I… wow… merci for telling me David."

"Hey pas de quoi. You're my friend Grell," David cracked a smile, "and honestly you're the only person I've ever been able to trust." Grell nodded and smiled back, watching as David stood up and walked over to the children playing in the corner. Grell let out a sigh, staring down at his bowl of soup and slurping it down. Friend? He had never been called a friend before… he was called a brother by Anna, and there was nothing that could compare to his love for her, but… friend? Not even William called him a friend. The words were so foreign to him that Grell felt speechless, a light chuckle escaping his throat as he continued to smile happily.

!#$%^&*()

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Grell sighed, noticing how boring the afternoons can be without anyone his age to talk to. Around this time was when the children who were at work would start to come back, but it seemed to Grell that David had taken a longer shift and would be gone for a few more hours. Sighing again he mixed the pot of soup before pouring out a cup for himself; Essie rushing over for her cup and slurping it down greedily. "Hey mommy," she began to ask as she quickly at her food, "when is David coming back?"

"I don't know," Grell shrugged. "He must be taking a longer shift or something."

"Oh…" Essie thought, scratching the back of her head as she set her cup down on the log and flopped over onto the ground. "Alright," she chuckled, "I can live with that –"

"Hey what's that?" they heard someone yell outside the door, Grell standing up and rushing over to the entrance of the building.

He squint his eyes and looked up to the sky, noticing the sky was starting to turn black from a hoard of demons coming their way. "S-so early?" Grell gulped, turning around to the children behind him who were beginning to investigate the scene. "Listen guys," he decided to explain, "Those are monsters that are coming our way. We have to get out of here **now**."

"M-monsters?" a few of them said at once, jumping backward in shock or attempting to run off.

"Now hold on," Grell held up a hand, "if you split away you're going to get hurt. Just stay by me and follow my orders, and you'll be fine… alright?"

"O-kay," a few of them nodded, Grell giving them a smile before grabbing his scythe out from his bag.

"Now run for the hills in that direction," Grell pointed to the outskirts of the city, the children nodding and running that way. Making sure they were a safe distance away Grell began to jump and slash at any demon he came across, trying to keep them away as the children fled. Why they were showing up so early he wished he knew! For now he just had to get the children to run away, knowing in the long run that the shinigamis will wipe their memories if they saw too much.

)(*&^%$#!

"Grell over here!" someone called to him, Grell running up the hill and jumping over the fence.

"W-why are you guys staying **here**?" Grell gulped, "Run damn it! –"

"No it's okay," a little girl held up her hand and smiled. "We have been standing here for a while and no monsters have been able to get in."

"Huh?" Grell huffed, looking around at their surroundings and staring at them confused. He hadn't noticed that they had trapped themselves in an old, abandoned graveyard, the demons lurking around and waiting for someone to leave. The place must have a spell on it or something, keeping the bad spirits out and letting himself in. "… Where is Essie?" he asked, looking around as his hands began to jitter with worry.

"W-we don't know," a boy told him. "She ran off looking for her brother –"

"Essie!" Grell yelled at the top of his lungs, unable to hear an answer as he started to panic. "Then you guys stay here. I need to go and find her. Anyone else missing?"

"N-no everyone else is accounted for –" Grell wouldn't let the boy finish as he look off into the city, trying to evade the demons as they ran past him. So many demons? Grell gulped as his green shinigami eyes glared into every suspecting figure that could be Essie. If only he had kept a better eye on her, what if she… he shook his head and let out a yell, cutting demons in half as he forced himself to not think about the possibility of Essie dying and losing her soul to a demon.

)(*&^%$#!

!#$%^&*()

"Frère?... Frère! Frère où es-tu?" Essie began to shudder, looking up to see the sun casting a shadow onto the walls and falling over the horizon. She gulped as she held her doll close to her and backed herself against the wall, unsure where she was and beginning to get scared. She saw a shadow against the other side of the street and yelped, hiding her face from the potential danger that awaited her on the other side.

"Essie is that you?" David peeked his head around the corner, letting out an_** 'oomph' **_as Essie jumped up and attacked him in a hug.

"Frère J'avais si peur!" she began to cry, squeezing his arm tightly as she refused to let go of him.

"Hey now," he sighed, wrapping protective arms around her shoulder and began to walk down the street with her clutched to his side, "don't be afraid. Frère is here now to protect you." Essie sniffled and kept a tight hold on him, letting her brother usher her down the road as they walked back to the abandoned building. "Why did you come looking for me?"

"W-well there were these monster things," Essie tried to explain, "and Grell-mum told us to run a-and so I wanted to find you to warn you –"

"Essie you shouldn't have done that," David sighed. "You could have gotten hurt if that was the case… but I'm glad I found you when I did. Do you know where the others ran off to?" She shook her head and clung to his arm, pointing up the hill and away from the street they were turning into. "Well let's go up there then," he told her calming, turning the corner and walking along the street next to the ruined building. As they walked they didn't notice eyes on them, slurping noises being made as darkened figures jumped down from the sky upon them.

!#$%^&*()

)(*&^%$#!

"Essie! Ester where are you!" Grell called for the little girl, dashing in the opposite direction towards the noises of crunching and munching. He retraced his steps back to the abandoned building, his running slowly turning to a walk as he saw a familiar raggedy doll on the ground. "E-essie?" he gulped, picking up the discarded doll and running his hand through its soft red hair and pulling down on its purple and blue dress. He quickly set the doll into his bag and took off, turning the corners and trying to find any sign of her. "Essie! Essie my god where are you?" Grell panicked, coming into an alley way and finding a hoard of demons gathering into the corner. "HEY YOU!" he growled, taking out his scythe and slashing the demons apart. He didn't stop till they were all dead on the ground, looking over in horror at the two children lying on the ground. "Essie, David!" he cried out, rushing over to their sides and examining their bodies. "Come on, please wake up! Plaire! Please!" Grell bit down on his lip, slowly drawing blood as he gently shook Essie's body and tried to wake her up.

"… M-mommy?" she said weakly, looking up to see a flash of bright red hair brush by her face.

"E-essie," Grell gasped, cradling her limp body in his arms. Her chest was gapping with blood spilling out into his hands, but he didn't care. He was glad she was still alive.

"A-am I going to die Grell-mum?" Essie frowned, trying to look over at Grell as her hazel eyes began to flicker close. "D-does it look bad?"

"No Essie," Grell chuckled nervously, holding her chest in an attempt to stop the bleeding, "y-you're fine. Just… just…"

"G-grell?" Essie coughed up blood, groaning at the weird taste in her mouth as she felt her eyes closing. "I-I can't stay aw-ake."

"It's okay," he began to cry, "It's okay. You'll be alright now. Go to sleep Essie. I-I'll be here when you w-ake up." He tried to give her an assuring grin, Essie smiling as she lifted up her hand to touch his teeth. Grell quickly brought her hand up to his face and cradled her hand upon his, shivering as tears streamed down his face and fell upon her. He closed his eyes and felt her warmth, gradually feeling her hand go limp on his face. "Essie?" he coughed, quickly clutching the dead body close to his chest and coating himself in her blood. "Essie no!" he began to sob, "Not you! –"

"G-grell?" he heard behind him, Grell turning around to see David's body crawling slowly towards him. "Y-you… that…"

"Ester died," Grell frowned, setting her body down on the ground next to David.

"E-essie?..." David tried to hold back tears, looking up at Grell with sorrow as he began to cough up blood and his head staggered back to the ground.

"David!" Grell called to him, lifting up his body and examining him. Sure enough he had been ripped apart by the demons too, a large gash across his back and a hole in his chest showing he wasn't going to live long either. "Y-you… you too?" he began to cry, gripping David tightly in his arms. "N-nooo…"

"G-grell," David coughed, looking up at him with a gentle smile on his face. "Grell… J-ee t'aime," he smiled, his hazel eyes looking up at him as he began to go limp in Grell's arms.

"J-e t'aime aussi," Grell sniffled, closing the boy's eyelids and choking back on his sobs. He set them down on the ground and waited for a shinigami to come by, which seemed that no one was coming. "W-why me?" Grell began to cry, kneeling beside their bodies and setting them side by side, hand in hand as he rubbed his eyes trying to get rid of the tears. He knew what he had to do, grabbing the death scythe he had dropped and gripping it tightly in his hands; the blade trembling as he threw it down upon David's chest and attempted to reap his soul. His eyes opened widely as he watched the cinematic records stream in front of his face, holding back sniffles as he watched the boy's life flash in front of him.

_David Xavier Chevalier was born on June 14, 1751 in a mansion outside of York. His parents were French and he had found memories of traveling back and forth from their home in England to their grandparents in France. He never had any friends, the English boys finding his background a reason to shun him from their circles and French boys finding is English accent hilarious. He lived a lonely existence till his sister was born, little Ester Abigail Chevalier. He didn't have time to enjoy his sister's company, for his father would bring him wherever he went on business trips and never being home out of months at a time. Whenever David could be home he would spend all the time he could with Ester, playing ring-a-round-the-rosie and hide-and-seek. Around his eighth birthday his parents both became gravely ill, Ester also falling ill of a strange disease no one had heard of. His parents passed away in October, but luckily little Ester was able to live afterwards. She had problems breathing, but David was glad he wasn't going to be alone and promised he would spend the rest of his life by her side and protecting her._

_Because of their parents' deaths their relatives began to raffle away their wealth, David having Ester run away with him to get away from their greedy family. He made a plan to travel to London, selling their stuff along the way to pay for housing and food. Towards the last leg of their journey David stumbled upon a body in the road, a strange boy with messy bright red hair in grungy clothes. He would have passed by if Ester hadn't insisted they help the boy, David carrying him off of the road as they set up camp in a nearby cave. He allowed the boy, whom he learned was named Grell, to come with them to London, wanting to part ways immediately when they went into the city. David never expected the city to be so large, so he followed the boy and hesitantly accepted his help. Since he had to work in a factory far away from the building they were forced to live in, David asked Grell to watch Ester while he was gone. Noticing how every day his little sister became happier and happier even though they were thrown into a poverty-stricken environment, he began to accept the red-head's help. He held Grell in high regards afterwards, slowly opening up to him as the days went on. Several times he would find Grell beaten up with fresh bruises and cuts on his body, but he took the time to bandage him up so he could walk around without any problems. Over time he fell in love with the boy's different attitudes, unsure if he was in true love with the boy or perhaps only had affection and admiration for him._

_It was heartbreaking for David to see Grell draining himself every day, but David couldn't do anything about that since Grell was the one who insisted he continue to stay up for long periods throughout the months. He made sure he had the boy fall asleep once a week, getting off of work early to do so and tend to his wounds. On one day he was running late, having gone by the store to pick up a treat for himself, Essie, and Grell since he had earned extra pay that day. He saw that the sky was getting dark, but he didn't care since he had been off on his own for several months. Just then he heard a small squeaky voice speaking French calling for her brother, David quickly recognizing the voice to be Ester's. Ushering her along and not sure what she was getting hysterical about; they were ambushed by a mob of demons from above. David kept Ester close to him as he felt claws sinking into his skin, but at one point his sister was unwillingly ripped from his arms as he was ripped up into the air and thrown to the ground. That's when he began to cry, his eyes full of determination as he tried to fend off the demons and keep them away from his sister. David was unable to stop a large slash across her chest, which at the same moment he was hit unconscious by a figure behind him. When he woke up he was too late, his sister having fallen dead in Grell's arms. When Grell rushed over to him with tears in his eyes David couldn't help but smile, seeing such affection in the boy's sorrowful double-iris green eyes. As he closed his eyes he reminded himself of the days with his parents, when they were all one big happy family laughing and playing with each other. He died on June 14, 1760, on the day of his birth by external bleeding from his chest._

Grell gulped as the soul streamed into his scythe, as if it knew where it was going and didn't hold up any resistance. Grell did the same to Essie; tears streaming down his face as her soul also willingly flew into his scythe and disappeared into the blade. He quickly stood up to his feet, wiping the tears from his eyes as a growl escaped his lips. "_**You**_…" he growled, his eyes narrowing at the demons as they passed by, "I can't ever forgive you, you bastards!" Grell yelled as loud as he could, dashing as fast as he could into the unsuspecting demons and hacking up as many as he could.

)(*&^%$#!

!#$%^&*()

Grell slowly got slower and slower, his stamina slowing down as he went past the building and up the road. There were too many demons and he was getting overwhelmed. He let out a cry as a demon got past his maneuvers and slammed his body into the wall, creating a whole in the bricks as Grell groaned and tried to stay alert. He yelped as he was thrown to the ground, using his scythe to shield his face as he was got scratched by the mob of demons. He yelled and slashed back at them, trying his best to jump away as he tried to get back to the other children. The graveyard was now in his sights and all he had to do was get through the gate, his body being thrown to the ground as his scythe left his hands and flew several feet away from him. He cried as a demon smashed its foot on his chest, Grell coughing up blood as he felt a stinging pain ripping through his chest and up his body. "Pesky earthworm," the demon laughed, kicking him away as the demons came upon Grell at full speed.

Grell looked over to his scythe and reached for it, unable to reach it as he began to cry. "You're life ends here –"

"I won't die here!" Grell cried out, the scythe flying into his hand as he flung the blade into the demon's chest and pushed it aside. Grell staggered to his feet and dashed to the gate, slamming his body into the steel entrance; too tired to open it himself as the demons lunged at him.

!#$%^&*()

**A/N: … And now I leave you at a cliffhanger *laughs evilly* Oup! *rocks and books fly my way* MEEP! I'm sorry! More will come later I promise ^^' So what do you think, now what Essie and David are dead? Yes, there was a time earlier that they could have died, but I wouldn't have gotten them to bond so much XD Anyways I hope you enjoyed this. SEE YOU NEXT TIME!**

_frère où es-tu_ – French – _brother where are you_

_frère J'avais si peur_ – French _– brother I was so scared_

_plaire_ – French – _please_

_Je t'aime _– French – _I love you_

_aussi_ – French – _too_

Chevalier – French – horseman, knight

Xavier – Basque – new house

Abigail – Hebrew – father in rejoicing


	12. The Mending

Kuroshitsuji © Yana Toboso

OCs © reaper-of-lost-souls

**A/N: And now here's the next chapter. Hope I didn't give you guys any fan girl heart attacks or anything *chuckles* *gets pummeled by rocks and books* Hey I said I was sorry! DX Anyways enjoy this next chapter!**

!#$%^&*()

"W-where could Grell be?" one of the children asked, all of them backing themselves against a tall grave marker and looking at the gate.

"I wish he would come back," another sniffled, suddenly hearing growling sounds and looking up to the road. "Grell!"

"Grell?" the others looked over, hearing a loud scream as the group of demons were flung away with two swipes of a death scythe.

Then the little red-head ran into the gate, his body starting to go limp as the demons turned around and lunged at him. "Grell hang on!" a few of them yelled, dashing at the gate and opening it just in time for Grell to fall inside. They grabbed him as a few others closed the gate, a several backing away as claws ripped at their clothes and they shuddered away.

"G-grell?" they gasped, the children turning him over and seeing a giant hole in his chest. "Grell! Mum wake up! –"

"Now, now," they heard a voice from behind them, the children turning around with their eyes widening at the intruder that mysteriously appeared in the graveyard. "If you shake him too violently he won't be able to wake up."

"W-who are you?" a brave girl pointed at him, the other children trembling as they kept a tight hold on Grell's body.

"_A Grim Reaper~_" the shinigami chuckled causing the children to whimper, "and so is that child sleeping over there."

"N-no Grell-mum can't be –"

"Then how about you explain the scythe he carries," the shinigami pointed to the scythe lying on the ground, "and his increased speed and agility. He is older than most of you, and he's been lying when he says he's human –"

"W-well to be fair," a boy answered, "Grell never said those things. Only that he was an orphan… that's really it. We had no reason to reject him otherwise."

"I see," the man huffed as he ran his black glove through his silver hair, "but let me take him off of your hands. He'll die if he doesn't get his wounds treated –"

"N-no," they all heard a weak voice say, Grell slowly opening his eyes as his hand went to clutch his chest, "N-no… NON! NO! –"

"Grell…" a girl said, running a hand through his red hair and setting his cap down on the ground, "Are his words true?"

"..." Grell looked at them confused, looking up at the man who was speaking and narrowing his eyes. "U-undertaker," he growled, "what are you doing here –" he coughed up blood, his body leaning off to the side as blood splattered onto the ground.

"Mom!" the girl gasped as she tried to hold Grell upright, the little shinigami holding his mouth as he continued to cough up blood.

"… You should go Grell," one of the boys suggested.

"We don't want you to die mum," other frowned.

"N-no wait I –"

"Grell you should stop arguing," the Undertaker said, kneeling down and staring into his eyes. "Didn't you _just~ _say you won't die here?" Grell looked up at the Undertaker, the green in his eyes glossing over as he began to go faint. Seeing as he wasn't going to argue with him any longer, Undertaker picked him off of the ground and cradled him in his arms. "I'll keep an eye on the boy," the shinigami explained, "so don't worry –"

"W-will Grell come back?" one of them whimpered.

"Mostly likely," Undertaker chuckled as he poked the child in the nose with his free hand. "He's a strong boy. He'll live –"

"D-don't forget his stuff," a girl said, picking Grell's bag and scythe off of the ground and handing it over to the Undertaker.

"Thank you my dear," he grinned, rustling up her hair, "your kindness is appreciated." As he finished speaking the Undertaker turned around towards the other end of the graveyard, walking over the rotten sign saying they were exiting and walked deep into the brush beyond.

!#$%^&*()

"So where is that Undertaker –"

"Been looking for me boy?" the Undertaker chuckled, keeping his hand pressed upon Grell's chest as he looked at the other shinigamis. They looked at him wide-eyed, wondering what he was carrying in his arms. "What's the report?" he asked in a rough tone.

"All but two souls are accounted for –"

"I think you'll find the last remaining human souls here," Undertaker answered as he picked up a student death scythe from under his arm and set it in the shinigami's hand.

"W-wait how –"

"It seems our little runaway had a little _run~_ in with the demons," the Undertaker snickered, "and it's best to get him treated. Now run along and finish. I'm going to return to the realm." The others gulped, but did not question his judgment as they separated into the city. Undertaker opened a portal into the shinigami realm, Grell groaning as he felt a bright light upon him. "It's the sun child," the man told him as they walked down a hill to the white buildings of the shinigami realm. "It's almost morn."

"U-under-taker I –"

"Save your breath," he hushed the child with a finger before giving him a grin. "I have to fill out some reports, but you'll be okay without me correct?"

Grell didn't answer him as they walked into the white building, crimson red glop dripping onto the floor as the shinigami walked casually to the infirmary. "Hello – My goodness what happened –"

"This child has a few minor cuts and bruises," the Undertaker explained. "See to it that he gets the best possible treatment around."

"Y-yes Undertaker," the nurse grabbed the boy in her arms.

"Uu-nder-tttak-er?" Grell yelled, grabbing for the older man as he was being carried away. "NO! COME BACK, NO! –"

The Undertaker stopped the nurse, looking down at Grell and picking up his doll. "Hold onto this till I get back," he said quietly as he placed the doll in Grell's arms. Grell shuddered as the man turned around, the nurse quickly turning back and running to the nearest white stretcher, placing the boy upon it.

!#$%^&*()

)(*&^%$#!

William was casually walking down the hallway, his bag over his shoulders as he held a book to his chest. "Did you hear…" he heard a group of children whispering to each other, William raising an eyebrow as he walked into his classroom and began to set his stuff down on the desk.

"Spears I need to talk to you," the teacher told him, ushering the boy over as William sighed and walked to his desk. "We…" the teacher sighed, "We found Sutcliff."

"W-what why are you tell me this –"

"Because you're the closest person to family he has," the teacher explained. "He is currently in the infirmary. Visiting hours are from nine to noon and one to five. You can leave whenever you want to go see him… okay?"

"U-ummm… yes…" William nodded, sitting back down in his desk and looking at his stuff. What, Grell was back? How long has he been… why was he in the infirmary? William gulped, his chest starting to feel tight as he thought about Grell. Was he… what happened to him?

His head was in a daze as class began, unable to keep his eyes on his books as his mind raced with questions concerning the small little red-head. What if he was dying? What if he got there and Grell had passed away? William didn't like the idea of losing another person, and certainly he didn't want to be sitting in school while the last moments could be spend by his side. Quickly William stood up, unable to keep himself in his seat as he gathered his things. "Hey what's up with him –"

"None of your business," William huffed, adjusting his glasses as he rushed out of the middle of class and dashed down the hallway.

)(*&^%$#!

!#$%^&*()

Grell's eyes began to open, a groan escaping his lips as he felt something tight wrapped around his chest. "G-grell?" he heard a meek voice next to him, Grell flopping his head to the side with another groan escaping his voice.

"W-willia-m…" Grell paused, groaning as he turned his head again and closed his eyes. "W-what are **you** doing h-ere?"

"I-I just heard and I had to come and see you," William explained, wincing as he stared at Grell. He didn't look like the red-head he remembered, fresh cuts and bruises all over his body. His hair was darker, still red, but dirty and messy then what he had hoped. What he winced at was the big bandage over the boy's chest, a twinge of red seeping through the white cloth. "They told me to," he continued, "a-and –"

"S-so you're here because y-you were **told**?" Grell snorted, "Do-n't give me that. I-if you don't want to be he-ere then go –"

"No," William huffed sternly. "I came here on my own accord. Now if you want me to really go I will… but I'm just glad you're okay."

Grell didn't answer him as he heard the little boy next to him let out a sniffle, a sigh escaping his lips as he smiled lightly. "I-if you're going to stay… d-do you k-now where my A-anna is?"

"Your doll?" William looked around, seeing the doll sitting contently on the nightstand. He walked around the bed and grabbed the doll, handing it to Grell as he gently grabbed it into his arms. William frowned again once he saw the large gash across his arm, knowing full well that it have been a demon.

"Merci," Grell smiled quietly, cradling the doll in his hand before looking up at William to giggle at him. "M-my so serious? I'll be f-ine Will… I'm just t-ired."

"Yeah well," he sighed walking back over to his chair and scooting it over to Grell's side, "I… well… I was –" William paused, noticing that Grell had passed out with a smile on his face. He couldn't help but give him a smile, rolling Grell over onto his back so he wasn't sleeping uncomfortably. "I was worried," he sighed again, staring at Grell as he watched his small chest rise and fall at every breath he took.

"Who would have thought a small tot was _worried~_?" he heard snickering from behind, William turning around only to stand petrified in shock.

"Y-you are –"

"Yes I am," Undertaker grinned and pressed his glove up against the boy's lips, "but do be a dear and not yell. You'll wake the patient."

"Y-yes," William nodded, backing away as he watched the legendary shinigami loom over Grell. He blinked as he ran his glove through the boy's red hair and tucked the doll closer to the boy's chest, which caused Grell to grin happily in his slumber. "S-so how do you know G-rell?" William gulped, the man keeping his eyes on Grell, but grinning like a madman at the question.

"I've been keeping an eye on him this whole time," the Undertaker chuckled, "why? Did you think your friend here couldn't last two days out in the real world?"

"N-no just…" William mumbled something under his breath and the Undertaker looked at him.

"You can explain the situation to Sutcliff when he wakes up," Undertaker began to say as he let out a sigh. "It will take him a few more weeks to recover, just in time for the next semester of classes to begin _I believe~_" he thought to himself, "and he will probably end up with scars after this, but over time the scars will dissipate on his body. Sadly he is charged with insubordination as a runaway, stealing school property, and changing human lives with his very presence, but since he has been doing such a **good** job back in the human world I don't see a reason for this charges to be filled out. These faults will go on Grell's permanent record, but also saving several human souls that should have been devoured or killed throughout the months he has been gone and saving an employee from being slaughtered by a demon will end up on his records too. Once he is able he can return to the life he has been living here… well, not unless he complains he will."

"S-so… so it must have been Grell who…" William looked at Grell before looking at the ground, twirling his thumbs in his hands before moving his glasses slightly.

"Saved your father? Yes," Undertaker answered him. "You should thank him. Sutcliff almost died because he got in the way of that demon."

William gulped, looking over at Grell before letting out a sigh. "I'll try, but he never listens to me anyways. To him I'm just some rich snob…"

"I think he'll feel better if you say something," Undertaker chuckled. "Now I must be off. There's office work that must be done."

William nodded and watched as the Undertaker left, waiting till he was gone before he set a gentle hand upon Grell's. "Grell," he sighed, letting one stray tear roll down his face as he quickly wiped it away with his fingers.

!#$%^&*()

)(*&^%$#!

_William gulped, rushing as fast as he could through the infirmary. He had been here several times before over the past year, but he **never** thought that he would be here for his… He ran past a nurse before she could say anything, rushing to the room at the end of the hallway panting with sweat rolling down his brow. "M-mother?" he frowned, walking into the bright white room as he looked upon the long, black haired woman laying motionless on the bed. _

_The woman cracked open an eye, looking over at William with a gentle smile on her face. "William, my son," she answered, raising her hand up trying to grab for him. He quickly walked over and grabbed a chair, letting his mother grab his head and kiss him on the forehead. "I-is your father –"_

"_He's alright," William explained. "He's in the other room –"_

"_M-my William," she coughed, her hand drifting down to his cheek and gently petting his cheek with her thumb, "I-I… I don't think I will m-ake it –"_

"_No wait," William stopped her and shook his head violently, "don't say such things –"_

"_You're li-ke your father," she chuckled, her hand drifting down to his shoulder. _

_William smiled, pressing of his mother's hand upon his shoulder with his hand and holding it there. "N-no I'm not –"_

"_Yes you a-re dear," she smiled. "Be proud whe-n I say that… w-we both love you very much –"_

"_I wish I could believe you, but I don't," William frowned. "You two are always at work and never come to pick me up from school. W-why? Is work more important than your own son! I just!… I just…" he sniffled and wiped the tear that tried to roll down his cheek. "You scare me. You leave me for hours on end and I never get to see you. You go after demons and now look at you… you're dying… you're going to leave me," his eyes tearing up as he began to cry, the tears streaming down his cheeks and falling on his mother's hand. "Mom I don't want you to go! Please don't go –"_

"_W-william," his mother interrupted him, giving him a faint smile as he looked up at his eyes, "I-I don't have time… I am **so** sorry, y-your father and myself… P-promise you w-won't hate me f-or leaving… I-I'm sorry –"_

"_W-wait no," he choked on his tears gripping her hand. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it that way –"_

"_I-I know," she smiled, "y-your just l-ike your f-fathe –" She paused, her eyes flickering as her head started to flop over on the bed._

_William gasped, her hand going limp on his shoulder as he gripped it tightly. "M-mother?" he began to cough. "Help! HELLLLLP!" he cried out, his screaming causing a bunch of nurses and doctors to run in to find the boy crying on the woman's bed, his face pressed against her chest as he gripped her hand tightly and continued to sob._

)(*&^%$#!

!#$%^&*()

_He walked around school as quiet as a mouse, unable to shake off the fact that the only family members he had left were his father. Even as he pleaded for his father to not go back to work, his father didn't listen to him and instead went to work for longer periods of time. William hated being alone, he **hated** it. What pained him the most is his father perhaps dying from some demon as his mother, grandparents, uncle… everyone. To lose him too… _

_William walked out into the courtyard with his lunch, munching on his sandwich slowly as he watched the other children play. "Hey who's **this** snob?" a boy pointed and laughed, the other boys snickering at laughing at William._

_He didn't talk to them, keeping his gaze ground as he munched his food. "Oh? The little **baby~** isn't going to talk to us?" another snickered. _

"… _How boring," another boy huffed. "Let's go pick on that orphan again." They took off and left him alone, William looking up to see a small red-head walk out of the same classroom he had come from clutching an unfinished doll in his hand. _

_He tilted his head to the side, never before seeing this boy before even though they must have been in the same classroom. "Hey you!" he heard the boys saying, holding their fists up before throwing the red-head into the middle of the courtyard and began to pummel him. William growled, setting his stuff down and dashing over to them. He wasn't one to mind bullies, but to see them picking on his classmate made his blood boil. _

_Before he could do anything a shadow rushed past him, shoving the boys away and kicking them off of the boy. "HEY NOW!" William heard a girl's voice say, "You've picked on the **wrong~** person." With two more swings of her hand and kicks with her feet the boys ran off, flipping her vibrant red hair in triumph as she picked the battered up boy from the ground. "Thanks for trying to help," the girl said to William, "but I can handle things here."_

_Being helped off the ground, the boy, whom William noticed had equally vibrant red hair, spat blood on the ground and wiped his bruised lip. "… Who are **you**?" the boy huffed at him._

"_William T. Spears," he bowed, looking up as the boy who only stared back with anger in his eyes. _

"_Are you two in the same class?" the girl asked with curiosity as she picked up the doll from the ground and handed it to the boy. _

"_Yes," William nodded, the girl smiling to him and raising her hand from her side. _

"_Hello," she grinned, "My name is Anna Sutcliff and this is my brother, Grell –"_

"_**Anna~**" Grell growled at her. "He's probably some boy who wants to beat me up too –"_

"_I assure you I don't approve of this violence," William huffed, thinking the idea ridiculous that the other boy would think he liked to see other children hurt their own kind. _

_Grell eyed him suspiciously as Anna only smiled, a giggle escaping her lips as an idea came to her mind. "Hey William," she beamed, "we were going to go off for a walk. Want to come?"_

"_Wha –"_

"_In the middle of the school day?" William frowned. "Can't you get suspended for such nonsense –"_

"_Eh no one cares," she huffed. "Plus it's a **beautiful~ **day out. Don't you want to enjoy the sun for a while before it gets gloomy again?"_

"… _I see your point," William thought to himself._

"_If he doesn't want go then he doesn't **have~** to," Grell grumbled under his breath. _

"_I-I never said I didn't want to –"_

"_Then it's settled!" Anna giggled, clasping William and Grell's hands and quickly pulling them along, "Let's go out!"_

"_W-waaaaaait!" William yelped as he was swiftly pulled out of the courtyard. "My lunch!"_

!#$%^&*()

**A/N: HEY LOOK! SOME FLASH BACKS! With William this time ^^ Anyways I hope you guys have enjoyed this next chapter. Thank you for reading! And I'll SEE YOU NEXT TIME!**


	13. The Arrangements

Kuroshitsuji © Yana Toboso

OCs © reaper-of-lost-souls

**A/N: I noticed you guys are getting impatient XD Here's the next chapter. Not as great as previous and it's toned down, but whatever. Does little Grell make it? Is he permanently scarred in a visible way? =O Well you'll have to read on to find out ^^ ENJOY!**

!#$%^&*()

William sighed, running a hand through his hair as he kept his gaze on Grell. He saw a shadow walk into the room and walk over to him, standing behind him and looking over his shoulder. "I figured I would find you here," the shinigami sighed, looking over at Grell before turning his attention back to William.

"What is it father?" William asked in a monotone voice, keeping a firm hand clasp on Grell's hand.

"I only wanted to see how your friend was doing," the man explained, "and I was wondering where you were. Its 2am in the morning –"

"Sorry I lost track of the time," William responded, making no notion to leave as he kept a stern glare on Grell and wishing his father would just leave him alone.

"… I'm sorry if this is upsetting," his father said as he grabbed a nearby chair and sat down next to him. "… I'll stay till you wish to leave –"

"You don't have to do that," William huffed. "You need to sleep for your mission tomorrow, _remember~?_ –"

"I know perfectly well what I need to do," he answered sternly, "and that's stay with my son." William didn't look at him as his father reached over and gently put a hand upon his shoulder, William tensing up as he did. "… I am sorry for not being around in the past," he sighed. "Your grandparents… well I was out of town at the time and your mother… I haven't stopped graving for her either. I can understand if you don't want to follow in my footsteps, but do realize that I am only trying to help –"

"By going on missions for days on end and leaving me by self? I don't see how that's helping," William grumbling before letting out a tired huff. "… When mother died you stopped coming home as frequently as you used to. I used to look forward to the dinners you and mother had before you left for work or came back, but now… now you don't bother to see me anymore? Do I remind you too much like mother or something?"

"No William," he sighed, "It's… I'm sorry. It's my fault for staying away from you since you were obviously grieving also. I can't expect that you'll forgive me for that, but I do hope that you understand that I love you and I have been doing all I can to support you."

"… Well why can't Grell come over for dinner some time?" William pouted. "Why couldn't Anna either? I asked you several times and you've said no –"

"That's because I was busy with –"

"It's always work! Not me!" William glared up at his father, quickly looking back down in embarrassment and rubbing his eyes. "S-sorry. That was uncalled for –"

"You have every right to be mad with me," he sighed. "I just hope that… that you can at least forgive me or perhaps understand why I do the things I do. It is what our family has been trained to do for years… That's why we go after demons. We put ourselves on the front line to keep the majority of the others safe… that's the idea at least. I have to work harder now because your mother is gone and… and have you ever thought working longer is how I'm grieving?"

"… I know," William pouted, "but still… I'm alone throughout the day and when I get home no one is there except for a maid or something. Grell is my only friend and you won't even let him come over?..."

"I-I'm sorry," his father sighed, "really, truly sorry, but the reason why is –"

"U-ugh…" Grell groaned, his hand moving away from William's as he curled up with his doll for a few moments before slowly opening his eyes to find William by his bedside. "W-william?" he tilted his head in question as he looked over at the man sitting next to him. He looked between them and quickly realized they must be related, the slicked back raven hair of the older man the exact same color as William's messy black hair. "… Y-your still here?" he asked, letting out a yawn as he cuddled with his doll and stared at him suspiciously.

"I haven't left," William smiled slightly. "How are you? Does it still hurt –"

"Oui it does," Grell sighed, "and I s-till don't see why you're h-ere." He pouted at him, refusing to not let his guard down as he felt a smile coming to his face. Maybe there was more to William then he thought, but for now the pain in his chest was unbearable and he could barely think straight.

"I-I see…" William nodded, the expression on his face turning neutral. "So –"

"You have g-glasses?" Grell snickered.

"Yes," William pouted, moving them with his hand as his eyebrow twitched. "Doesn't **everyone** get glasses sooner or later?"

"Not me," Grell smirked. "Not un-til I have to."

William sighed and shook his head, his father chuckling as he stood up. "Well it's about time we go home William," his father explained, "Your friend looks like he's recovering quickly."

"F-riend?" Grell tilted his head to the side, shrugging and letting the word slide.

"Wait. Undertaker wanted me to tell you some stuff," William said as he continued to sit by Grell's side.

"Yes?" Grell sighed as he turned over and looked up to the ceiling.

"Well…" William thought, "there's a bunch of accusations against you, but according to the Undertaker everything will be taken care of and you'll be able to return to the orphanage and school –"

"You know wh-at," Grell grumbled under his breath, "maybe I **never** wanted to come back. Did you ever think of **t-hat**?"

"Well ummmm…" William looked down to the ground and frowned, Grell keeping his eyes on the ceiling and not noticing the pout William was making with his lips.

"If you run away again the charges will be brought up against you… again," William's father explained. "You don't have to make a decision now, but you have time. And by the way thank you –"

"For what?" Grell interrupted him with a huff.

"… For blocking the demon's attack," his father continued, the two boys looking over at him confused. "I'm glad you're okay, but I know it was you who jumped in front of me as that demon came out to kill me. I give you my upmost thanks," he said with a bow.

Grell looked at him before a sigh escaped his lips. "Pas de quoi," he responded as a small smile showing up on Grell's face as he chuckled slightly. "But be careful n-ext time. I don't think it's good for s-someone's reputation if a _child~_ saved them from death."

"Heh," the man chuckled. "No wonder the Undertaker kept an eye on you," he said, Grell looking over at him with a raised eyebrow before looking back up to the ceiling. "Come William. We should let Mr. Sutcliff sleep," he said, William agreeing with a nod and following his father out the door.

"See you Grell," William called into the room as he left.

"See ya'h," Grell answered, a sigh escaping his lips as he continued to stare up to the ceiling before flopping his arm over his eyes and grumbled under his breath. So many events had happened over the past few months that he knew would never leave his mind. Coming across demons and being able to kill them just by instinct, being called Mother by a bunch of orphan and abandoned children, meeting David and Ester, meeting the demon Raven, being raped… seeing David and Ester's cinematic records… he sighed again as he turned in the bed, looking at the wall as he tried to think. In order to get over everything he would have to do something, but what? He sat up and looked around for his bag, seeing it lying next to the bed as a smile came to his face. Grabbing it he rummaged to the bottom, taking out a small piece cloth full of coins and counting his change. He smiled, he had enough. Carefully standing up and being cautious of the wounds he had on his sore body, Grell stumbled out of the infirmary through a window and sneaked away from the shinigami realm.

!#$%^&*()

)(*&^%$#!

Grell sighed, disappearing and reappearing through a portal he had created as he made his way back to London. Stumbling onto a rooftop he jumped down, gripping his bag close to his body as he almost fell to the ground and smashed his body into the wall. He groaned in pain, his wounds causing him fatigue as he coughed and used the wall to walk down the streets. He was looking for a specific building, which he recalled was on the edge of town. Going down various alleyways Grell finally made his way to the cemetery, noticing the line of buildings close to the gate's entrance. He looked up at the sign and sighed, opening the door as it ringed with his presence. He quickly noticed how clean the place was, a few bookcases with half filled with new scientific books of the day and the rest filled with jars and equipment the human who worked here must have used. "Sorry to keep you waiting," a man chuckled as he walked out through a hidden black curtain in the corner, "but I was working on a corpse. Do sit down. Would you like some tea?"

"N-no thank you," Grell held up his hand, the man vanishing through the curtain before Grell could say anything else. He pouted and continued his way through the room, noticing sawdust around the room with newly made coffins around the room. Two of them were small, too small to his liking.

He opened up the lid and frowned, seeing Essie's body sitting in the coffin with her doll lying beside her. Grell grabbed her doll and took off its dress, replacing the bloody clothes the doll had with a clean new pair he handmade at one point. Then he smiled, placing the doll in the body's arm as if she was clutching it in her sleep. "Your friends I see?" a voice asked behind him, Grell letting out a frightened shriek and stumbling backward. He gasped in fright and held his chest, the man chuckling and rustling up his hair. "Sorry to frighten you love," he continued to chuckle.

Grell pouted and put the lid back on the coffin, opening up the other coffin to find David's body sitting contently in the coffin. "… How can you make them look so…"

"Content?" the man finished his sentence, Grell looking over with a nod. "I try my best with what I have," the human chuckled, "but it's hard when the body starts to rot. I have to display them and place them into the ground before three days so their bodies don't rot and stink up the place… so what are you here for? I doubt you're here to see an embalmer at work."

"R-right," Grell gulped, feeling nervous in the mortuary as he closed the lid of the coffin and sat down on a chair. If the place hadn't been well kept and bright with candles he would have started freaking out and left, but the man seemed kind enough about him being there so it couldn't hurt to stay for a while. "Well those two children in the coffin are my friends and I… I want to pay for their funeral," Grell explained as he pulled out the coins from his bag and set them down on the man's desk. "It's not much, but it should pay for a decent coffin for the both of them and a burial plot… and if it's not too much to ask can… can I have them be displayed for a while? Not all day, but before they are set into the ground would be nice –"

"Say no more," the man held up his hand, "I was going to set them into the ground already without grave markers, but if I could have their names I wouldn't mind letting you spend some time with them before they are set into the ground –"

"W-well it's not just that," Grell frowned, "but there are other children who would like to see them before they die… I thought a little funeral would be nice before they are set into the ground, but if you can't find the time then that's alright…"

"You're paying me aren't you?" The man chuckled as he stood up and walked to the other side of the room, "Don't worry about it. I get royalties from the king, so have a small funeral for the children before they are set into the ground." Then he set down a bunch of forms onto the desk, sitting on the other side and taking out a quill with black ink, "Do tell child, what should I put on the stones?"

"U-uummmm…" Grell thought, stunned that a human was doing all of this even though the money he had paid him with was actually only enough for plots. "The boy's name is David Xavier Chevalier and the girl's name is Ester Abigail Chevalier," Grell told him in a stern voice, using the knowledge he had seen in their cinematic records to answer his questions. "David was born on June 14, 1751 and Ester was born on April 5, 1755. They both died June 14, 1760."

The man mumbled to himself as he wrote the information down, eventually setting the forms aside and handing them over to Grell. "All I need is your signature at the bottom where the X is and I can have the funeral ready for you tomorrow afternoon at two."

Grell nodded and grabbed the quill the man handed to him, dipping it into the ink and slowly writing his name. He heard the door open, but he paid the visitor no heed as he finished signing the forms and looked them over. "Here you go," he responded meekly, handing the forms to the mortician as he smiled and looked them over.

"Thank you love," he chuckled, looking at his signature a smirking. "'Grell Sutcliff'… very beautiful handwriting. Where did you learn how to write like this boy?"

"U-ummmm… nowhere sir," Grell chuckled back, "O-nly in school."

The man nodded and stood up, grabbing the forms and walking back over to the other side of the room. "Excuse me sir I'll be with you in a moment," he said to the man that walked into the room.

"Take your time," the man answered in a deep voice, Grell turning around shocked as the man looked down and giggled at the boy, "I was only visiting."

"Visiting – _Aw~_ yes it's you again," the man chuckled as he walked back over to them and smiled. "Would you like some tea?"

"I was actually searching for this young boy here," the other pointed to Grell as he glared at the man, "but if the lad would like to stay a while longer I won't stop him."

"I see…" the human looked at Grell before nodding. "Then tea for three it is," the man chuckled as he walked past the curtain and disappeared.

Once the man was out of sight Grell stood up dramatically, glaring at the man as he snickered at him. "Why are you here Undertaker?" Grell growled, the man pointing back to the chair and ushering Grell to sit back down.

"I noticed you had run away again and figured you would have come here," Undertaker giggled, "and I was _right~_ to look here first –"

"I didn't run away," Grell snorted, "I… I…"

"You wanted to say your final goodbyes didn't you?" he answered him. Grell nodded and looked to the ground, twiddling his hands on his lap as the Undertaker continued to chuckle at him. "Perfectly understandable. It must have been the first time you saw cinematic records before and I can't blame you. This is what I did the first time I evaluated a soul."

"You can remember **that** old man?" Grell smirked before frowning again and sighing. "Sorry. I can't rest till I know that they're having a good funeral… You won't report this will you?"

"Only if you promise to come back once this is over," Undertaker told him, Grell nodded as the man grinned. "Good. Now how about you stay here for a while and afterwards we'll go off and find a place to lodge for the night."

"W-wait shouldn't **you** go back and **I** go to the children –"

"Impossible," Undertaker explained, "those fools don't even know I went missing." He snickered into his sleeve as Grell raised an eyebrow, soon giggling at the boy as Grell chuckled along with him. "You can go and tell the humans in the morning. You need your rest child."

Grell sighed and sat back in the chair, crossing one leg on top of the other and pouting. "Oh alright," he huffed, "but I'm **fine**. _Trust me~_"

"I don't think I can," Undertaker snickered, Grell crossing his arms over his chest and huffing again.

)(*&^%$#!

!#$%^&*()

"I-is that… is that really David?"

"Oh wow Essie looks so peaceful."

"Why did it have to be them? They were _**so**_ nice to all of us. David would spend his money buying food for us and Essie was always there to make us smile. I miss them…"

"G-grell-mum… a-are you going to leave us too?"

Grell barely looked at them as he stared blankly into the coffins, deep in thought. "Ummm… yes I am –"

"W-wait why?" a boy whimpered.

"We all love you Mother Hen! You can't leave us!"

"Don't leave please!"

"B-but I –"

"I get it," another boy huffed, "He doesn't **like** us anymore."

"W-wait no guys –"

"Then leave if you don't want to be around!" a girl began to sob. "We don't need you! –"

"But I don't want to leave!" Grell raised his voice, the other children falling silent. He was beginning to sweat as he grabbed his chest tightly, feeling a tightness growing in the pit of his stomach. "I'm sorry b-but I'm being forced t-to leave –" he coughed into his hand, groaning as he felt a hot liquid coat his hand as he began to feel light headed.

"… G-grell?" a boy gulped as he began to fall forwards.

"Grell! –"

The children all took a gigantic step backward, gulping as a tall man with long silver hair picked up the red-headed boy before he fell to the ground. "N-o Un-derta –"

"Child fall silent," Undertaker responded sternly, Grell's green shinigami eyes looking up at his until he groaned and shut them tightly. The man looked over at the children, who were mostly petrified with fear over the presence of this tall intimidating shinigami. "It is I who is forcing your mother to go," the man explained, "but not without reason. You see how this boy is wounded? It will take him years to heal or even the rest of his life. I am the one responsible for taking him away. However, I **do** plan on taking care of him."

"S-so who are you?" a girl stood forward and gulped.

"Undertaker miss," he smiled, kneeling down and kissing the palm of the girl's hand.

She giggled and he grinned, Grell suddenly regaining consciousness and pushing away from him. "L-let me go," he growled, scratching at his arm until the man let him go. Grell stumbled and stood upright, wiping his brow as if nothing was wrong. "Don't listen to him," he huffed, "it's not his fault." Grell glared at the Undertaker, fury in his little bright green eyes, "And he doesn't plan on taking care of me. No one **ever** does."

"I assure you you're _wrong~_" he smirked.

"Don't say things you can't keep true," Grell huffed. "So many grownups give me promises, but none are ever kept. You're no different so don't act like you are. Now if you excuse me we have a funeral to conduct," he growled. "You are free to stay, but I would like it if you let us talk among ourselves."

Undertaker nodded. "Fine, if that is what you wish," he responded and turned away, a few of the children looking over at him with a smile on their faces as Grell sighed and shifted back to his spot in the middle of the two coffins.

"We… we are gathered here today to remember David and Ester," Grell began, "but also for any other child that has died throughout the years. Let us begin the funeral with a eulogy of their lives, which I will give to you now." He let out a sigh and scratched the back of his head, taking off his hat and crumpling it into his hands. "David Xavier Chevalier was born on June 14, 1751 in a mansion outside of York. He grew up with loving parents and grandparents with his little sister Ester Abigail Chevalier, or Essie for short, who was born April 5, 1755. They were part of the nobility class, and they took yearly visits or perhaps even monthly visits to France to visit their grandparents. David never got along with anyone and always loved Essie and wanted to keep her safe. When his parents died they were kicked out of their home by their relatives. That's why… that's why they came here. So they had a life we could only dream about, _big deal~_. David told me himself that… that he loved it here," he chuckled lightly, "and if he could he would use his mansion to house all of us… if he had been older and could inherit his parents' land. Still he worked tooth and nail every day, making sure he had enough money coming in so he wouldn't have to let Essie work. Essie was just as kind spirited as David in her own little ways. She loved to stay here and play and she even told me she liked to see the smile on people's faces even in the conditions they were in. Essie loved all of you, she really did, and would tell me time and time again that she'd show me a hidden room she had found while exploring their old home. She always believed she would end up going back; even David… well the both of them died June 14, 1760. Don't worry, they're alright now. They… they…" Grell couldn't take it, turning his head from them and rubbing his eyes. "S-sorry just…" he sighed again.

"Essie was like a little sister to me," someone stepped forward and continue with the eulogy. "She always wanted to leave the building so I would bring her along with me to collect fruit at the top of the hill. I showed her what was good and bad, poisonous and disgusting, and everything in between. Every day she would want to make an apple pie, asking if there was an oven somewhere we could use. We had actually found one a few days ago and I was going to surprise her with it. So… ummm…"

"David never complained at the factory," someone else stepped forward once the other child got quiet and started to tear up, "and always stood up for us. This one time…" The child chuckled lightly, "Well this one time I had come into work late, but David clocked me in and told me not to worry about anything. Then a few days later I would have been whipped, but David stepped in and told the supervisor that the problem with cloth was his fault. So he got whipped instead of me… so I treated him out to a beer, but he never really liked beer," he snickered. "He likes wine apparently, red wine with… lad-_urée~_ thingies he called them."

"David did the same thing for me too," another child said, "and once I would have gotten in trouble for falling asleep on the job, but David woke me up before the supervisor walked by and was working on my production line. He never complained, simply worked to make sure we were all okay…"

!#$%^&*()

**A/N: And I cut off there because it got boring since the children go on and on and I couldn't come up with anything else =3 So how do you like it so far? I don't know if I'll post another chapter this weekend. I may not have time since I have a convention to go to this Saturday, but since this chapter was short I may post another one. We'll see. Anyways I hope you've enjoyed it. SEE YOU!**


	14. The Return

Kuroshitsuji © Yana Toboso

OCs © reaper-of-lost-souls

Cirrus © Madame Grell

**A/N: Heh, it looks like I can post up another chapter for this weekend ^^ Well here's the next chapter. Now Grell has to return and encounters new challenges. What will happen to our little hero now? ENJOY =3**

!#$%^&*()

The eulogy went on well into the night and early into the morning. By then the children had dwindled to only a few, but they were laughing and enjoying themselves as they sipped drinks and enjoyed food together. Grell laughed along with them, clanking beer bottles together as they talked about their pasts. Everyone had a chance to talk about David and Essie, but as time went on the children began to open up and talk about their own pasts. Some were orphaned like David and Essie and others had neglectful parents. Some ran away while others lost their home, but all had come to the conclusion that they loved it there. Even though the streets were unsafe the community they had grown kept them safe and happy, as it kept them away from the outside world, which was a cruel and unforgiving place. As the last child left Grell waved his goodbye, looking back at the gravestones and running a hand over the engraving. He smiled. Everyone was happy now and perhaps he could move on from this. For now he'd have to remember, even if the memories will still haunt him for a long time. "So… do I **have** to go back?" Grell asked the Undertaker who had been waiting behind a tree and was making his way over to him.

"That's up to you," the Undertaker said solemnly with his hands in his pockets, "but I would suggest you should. You can't move on if you don't leave them behind."

"… Yeah I guess," Grell shrugged, "but I don't want to go back, just yet. Just…" He looked away, back at the gravestones before scratching the back of his head. "It's boring back there. I don't want to go back to the orphanage yet. If I have to go back I'll just go out for a walk I suppose –"

"If you're looking for something to do you can help me with my souls' list," the Undertaker grinned. "It's not a long list, but you may find the experience _interesting~_"

"Hmmm…" Grell thought, shrugging as he turned away from the gravestones and looked over at the Undertaker, "Sure why not. I won't be doing anything anyways." Undertaker grinned, summoning a portal with the swipe of his hand and ushering Grell over. Grell shrugged again, putting his hands into his pockets as he followed the man into the portal and disappeared from the cemetery.

!#$%^&*()

)(*&^%$#!

"Wow that's a lot of blood!" Grell giggled happily as he watched the dying man fall backward onto the cobble road. Undertaker looked at him before an amused chuckle escaped his throat, rustling up the boy's hair and tilting his hat to the side. "Hey you!" Grell pouted as he fixed his hat and glared. The man only laughed, casually walking out from the shadows of the alley and cutting into the human's body. Undertaker knelt down and stared at the records, Grell pacing back and forth bored out of his mind. They had been working all morning and throughout into the afternoon, and Grell was starting to get tired of the cinematic records. Even if he had only seen a few they were getting dull, similar events playing in every one of them. First birth, loving families or friends, then eventually death. It was getting uninteresting and he hated being bored, fed up with watching the cinematic records. "Is this _all~_ we do?" Grell huffed as he crossed his arms over his chest and pouted, "because this is_** boring~~**_"

Undertaker didn't answer the boy till he was done evaluating the soul, letting the record fly into his death scythe before he stood up and loomed over him. "_Oh~~?_ You're bored so quickly?"

Grell rolled his eyes, a sigh escaping his throat as he continued to pout. "Yes. It's boring! I mean they play the same thing _over~_ and _over~_ again. Don't **you** get bored –"

"Yes I do," the Undertaker chuckled, startling Grell with his statement, "but… I've slowly seen the beauty in every soul I suppose," he finished with a shrug.

"Oh how?" Grell huffed, "because I don't see it." Undertaker sighed and opened a portal, walking through it and expecting the boy to follow him. Grell sighed and shook his head, following after the man and walking into the forest. He looked around in awe, watching as a multitude of butterflies suddenly fluttered around them with their presence.

Grell watched as butterflies flew onto the Undertaker's coat, the shinigami opening his black glove as a large dark brown, red, and black patterned butterfly flew onto the man's finger, showing off its bright colors at the boy as the Undertaker stared at it with curiously. "A _Vanessa atalanta_," the man said with a grin, "or Red Admiral. A beautiful butterfly, don't you think lad?"

"Y-yes I suppose," Grell shrugged as he watched the man continue to look at the butterfly.

"A very beautiful butterfly, yes, but have you ever look close enough to tell that each one is different?" Undertaker continued as he set out his other hand and another butterfly flew down, looking exactly the same in the young boy's eyes. The man set his hands down so the boy could have a closer look, Grell gasping with fascination at the colors.

With a closer inspection Grell saw how they were different, even if it's by the slightest detail in their shades of color and sizes. "W-wow I…" Grell became silent, one of the butterflies flying onto his hand while the other fluttered away. Another butterfly fluttered down to greet them, a large dark brown, white, orange, and purple-blue butterfly flying onto Grell's hand and looking at him. Grell grinned as he watched the butterfly, looking up once he noticed a human dashing through the woods gasping in awe.

"I found them!" the man jumped happily, suddenly falling forward down the ridge and hitting his head against a rock. Grell cringed, a frown on his face as the man stared up to the sky and watched the butterflies flutter by. "R-really?" the man frowned, reaching his hand up to a butterfly as it fluttered down and landed on his finger, "T-this is how I end?" The human chuckled nervously as blood coated his head and his eyes began to flicker.

"It is," Undertaker said to Grell. "Sometimes life ends too unexpectedly to a human, but yet if you watch the records you see how each is different. Every soul has its own experiences, even if, over time, the lives start to blend together, but every once in a while you find an extraordinary soul that excels your expectations. May it be a simple butterfly collector or a nobleman, it doesn't matter. They impact your own life even if you don't know it initially, every soul… day after day…" The man knelt down and cut into the man's chest, his cinematic records winding around them in an attempt to stay alive. Grell could see in his final moments the butterflies, still fluttering around them as the shinigami ended his life with one simple cut of his death scythe. Grell continued to stare as the Undertaker closed the man's eyes, a weary look on his face before quickly fading away into a wide grin. "How about we stay here for a while? We're in no hurry, _are we~?_"

"N-no I guess," Grell shrugged as he followed the man, walking a little deeper into the forest and sitting under a large tree. Grell began to tediously play with a large vine next to him, twisting it around his finger as the older man laid his head on the ground and looked up to the sky.

)(*&^%$#!

Grell gasped, his eyes fluttering open as he noticed that the sky had gotten dark and the moonlight was shining into the trees. Had he fallen asleep? He groaned as he rubbed his head, looking over and noticing the Undertaker was still awake, looking up to the sky in deep thought. Grell looked up to the sky too, looking back at the man and back at the sky in an attempt to figure out what he was looking at. Grell sighed and stood up, the man looking up as the boy loomed over him with his arms crossed over his chest. "What are you doing?" he asked, the man chuckling as he pushed himself off of the ground and stood up.

"I am deeply sorry little lad," Undertaker chuckled lightly as he ran a glove though his hair and pulled a long silver braid behind his hear. "I was just thinking –"

"Well it took you a while to think, didn't it?" Grell huffed as he began to trudge away, stopping as he noticed that the man hadn't moved. "Come on _old man~_. You should get to bed right?" The Undertaker giggled, turning his back on Grell and fiddling around with something. Grell pouted and walked back over to the man, pulling on his coat as he tried to bring him along. "What? You feel asleep or something –" Grell paused as the man turned around with a large red rose in his hand, handing it to the boy with a grin on his face. "W-what… are you giving me this?"

"Of course," the Undertaker continued to giggle. "It goes _lovely~_ with your vibrant red hair. See?" he snickered, holding the rose up to Grell's hair before tucking it into the boy's coat pocket. Then the man turned around, opening a portal walked through it.

Grell followed after him, a frown coming to his face once he noticed where they were. "Really? It's over already?" Grell pouted, looking at the orphanage building the Undertaker stood in front of.

"If you don't want to go then you could stay with me for a while longer," the Undertaker offered as he turned around, "but I'd have to fill out the paperwork –"

"You mean adoption?" Grell huffed in disgust. "_**No way~~!**_ I'll be _fine~_. You go and sleep you old geezer. You must be tired by now," Grell said, moving his hands in an up and down motion trying to suggest the man to leave.

The man stared at him, noticing how half-hearted Grell's actions were. "Alright," Undertaker chuckled, "I'll leave you be. Keep your soul safe little one," he waved behind him, Grell continuing to try to shoo the Undertaker away. Once he noticed the man was out of view Grell sighed, turning around and looking at the orphanage. He looked down at his rose and grinned, pulling it out of his top pocket and setting it carefully into his bag. Then he let out another sigh and ventured inside, taking large steps as he jumped up to the top of the stairs and opened the door. After which Grell disappeared into the darkened building, not noticing a being with bright red eyes staring from a distance.

)(*&^%$#!

!#$%^&*()

"Hey look! Little red worm is back!" a boy laughed, Grell keeping his eyes away from him as he walked down the road.

He was almost at the school and once he walked into the building he wouldn't have to worry about being beaten up. "Pansy! Pansy! Grell's a little pansy!" Another boy laughed, the others laughing along with him as Grell let out a low growl and clutched his bag tighter to his shoulder.

Grell was starting to miss the human world, the constant taunting he had grown used to becoming so foreign now. "My god what's with your clothing?" a boy asked as he grabbed Grell's jacket and brushed the dirt off. "How disgusting! You're like a pig –" The boy stopped talking as he was punched in the mouth, Grell using all the force he had in his fist to send the boy flying backward.

"Shut up!" Grell sneered, running as fast as he could towards the school and not looking back. He knew the boys were chasing after him by now and if they all took him on he wouldn't be able to handle it. Once he passed the gate he ran into the courtyard, throwing his bag aside and putting his hands up. He was really tired of running and if that meant taking on a bunch of measly boys to get them to leave him alone then he would. "Come and get me you bloody bastards!" he yelled, infuriating them as a boy growled and threw his fist at him.

Grell glared and grabbed his fist with ease, the boy's eyes widening with astonishment as he sneered and gripped his hand tightly. He began to bend the boy's hand backward, the boy cringing in pain as he was forced to kneel to the ground till Grell let go. The boys blinked in confusion as Grell blinked back, looking back at his hands with bewilderment. He must have become stronger after living on his own for so long, not having to rely on the grownups and fending for himself. "You punk!" a boy yelled, a few of the other boys ganging up on him for a frontal assault. The rest ran behind Grell, circling around him and lunging at him.

Grell grinned. It was just like with the demons in London, pitiful weak demons. He threw his leg up and punched one of them in the gut, throwing his fists around and taking each boy out. He began to chuckle under his breath; this is fun! A few boys retreated as only three stood around him, brushing themselves off and pulling out knifes. "You think that's funny?" one of them growled, jumping at him and causing the other two to jump towards him. Waiting till the last second Grell jumped into the air, pressing their heads into each other and flipping them over.

The third ran at him, knife rose high above as he tried to strike him. Grell evaded him by taking a step back, tripping him with his foot and slamming his hand into the back of his neck causing the knife to fall out of his hand and into Grell's. Grell huffed, pressing his foot into the boy's back and submitting him on the ground. "Well your little game is over _isn't it~?_" Grell grinned, throwing the knife to the ground and startling the boy as it snapped a few pieces of hair and grazed the side of his skin. Grell stepped off of him and walked over to his bag, casually picking it up as the boys looked at him in shock. Then he turned around and glared at them, his former bullies jumping back and yelping with fright. Grell grinned and began to laugh, holding his chest as he opened the door leading into the school and slammed it behind him. As he walked down the hall he sighed, wiping a stray tear from his eye as he let out little giggles. Oh he hadn't had that much fun in a while. For once **he** was the top dog, alpha. He swung his bag around him as he set it on his shoulder before sighing again. Perhaps now that he showed those boys a lesson they'd leave him alone? Grell knew in the back of his mind that would never happen, but a shinigami can dream right?

He walked into his classroom and walked over to his desk, raising an eyebrow as he saw a girl sitting in his desk. Grell glared. She had her back turned to him, long black and red streaked hair and wearing a black and red checkered sweater. Not only that, but was she talking to William of all people? "Oh hello Grell," William gestured as if he hadn't been gone for months. "Cirrus this is Grell Sutcliff. Grell, Cirrus Jane Raven."

"Hell… o…" Cirrus said, turning around and staring Grell in the eyes and noticed the snarl on his face.

She had nice sharp teeth, like a cat. What is this treachery? Did William replace him or something? "Ummm… Hi I guess," Grell said, looking over at William with a glare. "Where am I supposed to sit –"

"Oh this is **your** seat?" Cirrus chuckled as she jumped off of the top of the desk. "I'm sorry if I'm imposing. I just got here and the teacher had me sit here –"

"No it's alright," Grell held up his hand, "I know what they meant by that… New you say? From where? When did you get here?"

"Got here last month," Cirrus explained, "and the teachers made William over there show me around the campus and he's the only one who talks to me so I talk back. That's really it. And as for where I come from that's classified. None of your business hotrod."

"**Hot Rod**?" Grell huffed. "What do you mean by **that**?"

"I saw you out there from the window," Cirrus shrugged as she picked up her things and slung them on her shoulder. "You took out those boys didn't you? How did you do that –"

"_None of your business~_" Grell sarcastically shook his hips before giving William a nasty glance. "You know what, keep the desk. I'm not going to be in today," he huffed, leaving Cirrus and William in the classroom.

"… Did I say something I shouldn't have?" she tilted her head to the side as Grell slammed the door behind him.

"No," William sighed, "that's just Grell. I told you about him right?"

"Yeah I guess," Cirrus shrugged back. "… You're not going to run after him?"

"He'll come back when he wants to," William huffed as he sat back in his desk, "but go ahead and find another seat. The desk behind him is vacant too."

Cirrus sighed, throwing her bag on the ground with a _**'thud' **_and startling William. "Well that's boring," Cirrus pouted, "whatever. You know I think you're wrong that class starts at seven. I think it starts at eight, right?"

"I like to get here early," William shrugged.

"Boring larva," Cirrus huffed as she sat down.

"_**Excuse~ me?**_" William looked up from the book he had out on his desk and glared.

"Sorry did I insult you again?" Cirrus sighed as she sat back in her desk. "Told you it tends to happen, so don't get hysterical about it."William shook his head and turned his attention back to his book. Why his father ever asked him to show this girl around he'd **never** know. Perhaps he should have run after Grell – no it was too late for that now. Besides Grell is just being Grell. He'll come back… probably.

!#$%^&*()

My god. My god! Grell wanted to scream, walking hastily off of the campus and towards the back woods. Who is this new person and why was she talking to William? **His** William! – Wait. Did he just think _his~_ William? Grell sighed, running a hand through his messy red hair. He grumbled in disgust as his fingers got caught at the ends. He'd better get around to combing and cleaning his hair again. He dashed as fast as he could, pushing his way through the branches and into the densest part of the woods. There was a destination he wanted to reach and if he didn't get there soon he would explode!

He ran to the top of the hill and stood at the top, throwing his bag to the ground as he stood with his hands fisted to his side. Grell breathed in tightly, holding his breath in till his face started turning red. Then he yelled at the top of his lungs, his enraged voice echoing around him and into the valleys below. He kept yelling till he was out of breath, letting out exasperated sighs as he flipped over on the grass and rolled till his head was facing the sky. He let out a contented sigh and shook his head, running the grass through his fingertips thinking to himself. So many things had happened that Grell could barely think. The demons, David and Essie dying, waking up in the hospital and… seeing William. Grell sighed; this wasn't turning into a good first day. He shifted on the grass and looked down the hill, pouting as he thought. Grell hated to admit it, but having William back at the hospital reminded him about a few things. Back to Anna, back to his sister… it was **that** day that he can never get back, and because of Anna he can never see himself as an orphan again… a family… That's all Grell ever wanted was a family and she gave it to him without even knowing about it. Her small little comments, her smile, everything about her seemed to brighten up his day. Yes, Grell would call that love, but as all great love stories go they end in tragedy… right? There was one occasion in his life that Grell could never forget, which he has treasured ever since he could remember. At the time he was twelve and Anna was twenty two, even though he looked six and Anna looked to be about fourteen. They had gone on a long walk and had skipped school for the rest of the day, Anna feeling uneasy about something and Grell didn't like school anyways so he wanted a reason to leave.

_She let in a tight huff, yelling as loudly as she could till she fell over backwards in the field giggling almost as loudly as her yell. Grell smiled and sat down next to her, curling up close to her as she scratched her nose happily. "I'm glad you're my little brother, Grell," Anna smiled happily, hugging him tightly and squeezing his hand for reassurance. Grell giggled, tilting his head so he was looking at her and shining his sharp teeth at her. Then she let out another hefty sigh, breathing in deeply as she collected enough courage to continue speaking again. "You know that I will be leaving next year right?" she sighed, looking over at Grell for an answer from him as he gave her a slight nod._

"_Yes big sister," he nodded, "yes."_

_Anna gave him a faint smile, nodding as she sighed and continued to tell him something that had been on her chest for quite some time. "You know, once I've established a place for myself to live I'm going to adopt you. We can live in the same house Grell! You won't have to sleep in the orphanage anymore once big sister is settled down and I can pay for my own housing. I bet you it will only take a few months, since I'm already working that job at the butcher shop." Grell smiled and nodded, happy about the idea of Anna taking him in as her own and letting him live with her. "Now I… there is something that I have been keeping from you," she sighed, the smile on her face weaning as she tried to think about the best way to say it._

"_Go on," Grell encouraged her, giving her hand a tight squeeze as he continued to smile at her happily, his eyes beaming gleefully as Anna was going to tell him another secret of hers. _

"_Okay," she smiled back, squeezing back just as tightly before running her other hand through her hair. "You know how I wanted you to call me older sister, right?" she asked him, getting a nod from Grell as he remembered what she was talking about "There's a reason." Letting in a deep sigh she held her breath, giving Grell time for suspense as she breathed out again and gave him a smile. "There is more about my past you don't know." She sat up and brought her knees to her chest, letting go of Grell's hand as she did so. "I… I want to tell you about my family," she sighed, "but I never told anyone." Even though she was scared, Anna knew she had to explain to Grell something important. He may not understand everything now, but perhaps later he will be able to look her in the eyes as a person he could trust and maybe open up to her a little. "Okay here it goes!" she chuckled, encouraging herself on._

!#$%^&*()

**A/N: And how I leave you with another cliffhanger XD So what do you think of the new character? Good? Bad? Anyways this may be the last one for this week. I don't know. I haven't been writing a lot of this fanfic so it probably will be the last one this week. I just want to annoy you guys obviously XD *gets hit by a bunch of rocks* D; Well I'll see you next time. BYE!**

Red Admiral – _Vanessa atalanta_; found in in temperate Europe, Asia and North America. The Red Admiral has a 45–50 mm (1.8–2.0 in) wing span. The species is resident only in warmer areas, but migrates north in spring, and sometimes again in autumn; identified by its striking dark brown, red, and black wing pattern. More specifically, the dark wings possess orange bands that cross the fore wings and on the outer edge of the hind wings; white spots on the dorsal fore wings near the front margin; reddish bars on dorsal surface of all four wings; In northern Europe, it is one of the last butterflies to be seen before winter sets in, often feeding on the flowers of ivy on sunny days. The Red Admiral is also known to hibernate, re-emerging individuals showing prominently darker colourings than first brood subjects. The butterfly also flies on sunny winter days, especially in southern Europe

Purple Emperor – _Apatura iris_; found in woodlands throughout Central Europe and southern Britain. Adults have dark brown wings with white lines and a small orange ring on each of the hind wings. Males have an iridescent purple-blue sheen which the females lack. The caterpillars are green with white and yellow markings and have two large horns. They lay eggs in late summer on the upper side of sallow leaves. They prefer the leaves of the broad-leaved sallow. After hatching, the caterpillars will lie on the midrib of the leaf where they are well camouflaged, and feed only at night. During the winter they hibernate in the forks of sallow branches where they change colour from green to brown to match their surroundings. The next June they will form a pale green chrysalis that resembles a leaf shoot. The adult will then usually emerge in mid-July


	15. The Painful Truth

Kuroshitsuji © Yana Toboso

OCs © reaper-of-lost-souls

Cirrus © Madame Grell

**A/N: Well I would have reviewed this chapter yesterday, but I got busy. So I'll post it today! =D Enjoy this one. I don't know when I'll post the next chapter. I'm pretty much down to one chapter to review, so I'll need to write more. So the consistency you've seen for this story will slow down till I can write more. Don't worry though. My last day of finals is tomorrow so hopefully I can write more during this week. It's just I have writer's block for this story. Plus I wanted to take a little break from this one and work on my other fanfic, so there you go ^^ I hope you enjoy!**

!#$%^&*()

"_When I was born my mama and papa were together. They were happy and I can still remember that love clearly in my mind. Papa was a strong shinigami, not a legendary shinigami or anything, but a strong man regardless. He kept his family first above all else, making sure he was home every day at seven after work to spend time with us. Mama wasn't a drunk back then and she had great confidence and pride in herself when papa was alive. Papa was part of the dispatch division and more importantly he was told to be the strongest shinigami in his unit. When I was about nine, mama and papa came to me and told me that they were going to have a baby. I was excited to have a little sibling to take care of and counted down the days till the baby was born, the baby being a little boy who looked more like mama than papa. Papa said, 'No. He looks like his older sister the most,' and that made me swell up with pride. I made a promise that day to take care of the baby and teach him everything I knew, making a list of things I should teach him on a small piece of paper once he was old enough to listen to me," she chuckled happily._

"_But then," Anne sighed, "everything began to spiral down. When I was eleven, papa died on a mission and the man told mama that he died bravely in combat and had saved everyone in his unit. Mama never got over the death of papa; one night she would rip up anything that reminded her of papa and other nights crying in a corner about how he could leave her with children to take care of. That was when I was scared for my life, having to bring my one-year-old brother with me wherever I went because I was worried what she might do to us if she had a violent fit. Instead of the days improving she got worse and worse; our home slowly becoming trashed and mama being gone for hours at a time and sometimes coming home in the afternoon after being gone all night. I could tell, from the look in her eyes, that I reminded her of papa and so did my baby brother. She couldn't look at us in the eyes anymore and be the loving mother she should have been to us. One day she came home drunk, and at the time I had gotten home an hour earlier and began to cook food and feed my brother his afternoon bottle. She lunged at me, holding a knife up to my throat and screaming at me that I was a ghost, and why did papa have to go. I began to cry, having to leave my baby brother defenseless in the crib as I tried to struggle free and get away. Mama wouldn't have that, throwing me to the side and started to beat me. It was the first time she did." Anna coughed, her hands shaking as she remembered the events. "Then… then it got worse. My brother started to cry. Mama raised her knife at him to shut him up, but I stood in front of her and got stabbed in the shoulder. It was the first time she hurt me too. With my other hand I slapped mama in the face to knock her to her senses; mama shaking from what she had done as I made sure my brother was okay before tending to my own wounds. They weren't bad, but weren't pleasant either._

"_It was the following day that changed my life. When I got home from school I did as I always would do, wash my hands and warm my baby brother's bottle as I grabbed whatever I could find out of the fridge and walked to his baby room right next to mine. When I got there I dropped everything, starting to panic as I saw that my baby brother wasn't in his crib. I ran around the house searching for him, hoping for a cry or a call to tell me that he was okay. When mama got home I asked her where brother was and she said, 'I took care of it.' That's when I feared the worst, she killed her child. I was scared after that, my mama and I growing apart as she went to the pub every day to get drunk and I would go to school as if everything was normal. It was on that night that she almost beat me to death and the day after that I was finally able to leave, but it wasn't without consequences and new responsibilities I found myself into when I arrived at the orphanage._

"_Grell," she sighed, "you have to understand that I'm coming from a difficult place. I… I don't know if this is true or not, but please hear out my reasoning for this." She mumbled into her legs, rubbing her face on her knees before she continued again. "My papa named my baby brother after his father, whom I never met because he died before I was born. I was named after my mama's mother, whom I'm proud to share my name with even though I never met her and she had also died before my birth. When I came to the orphanage there was a little boy who was in the middle of a brawl, being kicked around and beaten as I was with my mama. Thinking only on instinct I took every boy on, all of them running away from me after a few minutes. Perhaps it was destiny or fate, I don't know, but the boy looked too familiar to me then I could anticipate. I thought about it days after, memorizing his name and helping him fend off bullies when they came by. I never liked bullies. They have no dignity left in them. Anyways I couldn't shake the thought out of my mind. He was too familiar to me, you see," Anna sighed, giving him a smile and running a finger though his short, bright red hair. "Grell… Grell was my baby brother's name. Do you understand w-what I'm trying to say?"_

_Grell paused, only staring at her with an emotionless expression. He glared at her, trying to find any indicator that she was lying before letting out a tired sigh and crunching his knees up to his chest as he thought. "… I have been told that I have been at the orphanage since I was one," Grell explained, deciding to talk about his own past since she told him hers. "I was crying when they found me, with a little note that said that my name is Grell and to love me in a way my mother could never do. No one did though, except for one lady who nursed me back to health and fed me as if I was her own child. I was a normal child till my teeth began to grow in, everyone becoming frightened that my teeth were sharp and pointy. The lady who had raised me was the only one who continued to care for me, teaching me how to sew, cook, and anything else I may need to survive and things I liked to do. I wasn't bullied until she died, a gang of boys ganging up on me and beating me to a bloody pulp. They took my doll and ripped it, a voodoo doll the lady had taught me to make as my first sewing project. I continued to sew it back together even as it kept getting torn apart, the doll being a reminder of the one shinigami who believed in me and told me that I could do great things if I tried. _

"_On that day you came and asked me to call you big sister… I never had a child come up to me and talk to me before," he sighed. "You were the first, and still my only friend. I have always been worried that you would leave one day, becoming bored with me or think I was scum. I never asked about my family, since the only answer I got was that they must have died or they left me to die outside the orphanage door. Honestly, if it wasn't for you showing up I would have run away." Anna blinked in confusion; awestruck at all the words Grell was telling her. This was the first time he had ever opened up willing to her and the first time he ever said more than just a yes or no answer. "I do not care if you think I am your brother. If I am then I am, but if I'm not then I am not." He put a gentle hand a top her own, smiling at her happily through his sharp pointed teeth. "I hope, even if I'm not, that I can keep your last name. I never had a sister, let alone a friend, and even if we're ten ages apart and you believe I'm your brother we can never really know. So what do you want to do? Keep me with you as a thorn in your side or leave me once you become a full-fledged shinigami?"_

_Anna gulped, biting down on her bottom lip as she held back tears. "G-grell…" she began to cry, unable to hold back the hot liquid that streamed down her face. "You… papa had sharp teeth too." Grell blinked confused as she grabbing him in a tight hug, crying hysterically as she buried her head into his shoulder. "Grell! Grell I don't care!" she told him. "I don't care if you may not be my brother! You are! **You are!** Don't think any less about that! I want you with me! Please don't be angry with me!"_

_Grell looked down, wiping a tear that fought through his eyes to cause his eyes to water. "I… sister?..." he mumbled, patting her comfortably on the back as he tried not to cry. "Anna… Big sister Anna?... Y-you still want me?"_

"_Of course babe," she sniffled, "and I want you to come with me once I get an apartment. I don't want you here. You're a better kid then you think you are and you just need to shine."_

"… _Anna I want my doll to look like you," he said, pulling away from her as a few tears began to drip down his face as he smiled happily at her. "Can… can I?"_

"_Yes Grell," she chuckled gleefully as she tried to wipe her tears away, but unable to get rid of the red-puffiness on her skin that slowly grew on her face. "I would be honored if you make your doll to look like me. I'll give you a piece of my clothing for you to use!" she giggled, grabbing him back in a tight hug and refusing to let him go. "I love you little brother," she said quietly in his ear and refusing to let him go._

"… _I love you too big sister," he smiled, cuddling into her shoulder and refusing to let her go._

!#$%^&*()

Grell gasped, waking up from a nap and realizing he was still out in the middle of the woods. He yawned and stretched, sitting up and grabbing for his bag. He must have been asleep for hours. The sun was starting to set over to horizon. As much as he loved staying out and looking at the stars, he knew it was unsafe to do so without someone with you. This part of the woods was in the shinigami realm, but this was the easiest connection to the human realm. Make one wrong move and you'd end up tumbling into the human realm, or the humans tumbling into the shinigami realm. He grabbed a piece of fruit from his bag and began to munch on it, deciding it best to eat first before heading back. He sighed before smiling to himself as he felt the breeze on his face. Oh how Anna would have loved to sit out here with him, watching the yellows, oranges, and especially reds in the sky. He watched the birds fly by, a few landing in the trees next to him. Grell grinned, finishing his fruit and throwing it off to the side for the animals to eat. He looked over and noticed one bird, a bird slightly different than the others. Its wings were pure black, as the other birds came in all ranges from red to purple. This bird seemed to have no color to it, except for the bright red color in its eyes. Did he see that somewhere… Grell shook his head and stood up, slinging his bag over his shoulder. Whatever that was it wasn't something he could recall right now. Either way he decided it was best to get back before night fell, but he felt an unnerving feeling in the pit of his stomach that a strong being was watching him.

He began his trek back to the white buildings, passing by a row of houses as he did. Grell looked over at the windows and sighed, seeing happy little families in their happy little homes. He knew he could never have that, never ever… Grell shook his head keeping the memory out of his mind and kept walking, placing his hands in his pockets as he made his way down the cobblestone street. He looked up and raised an eyebrow, noticing a black haired boy about the same age as himself making his way towards him. "Father didn't pick you up again?" Grell said as they met up and stopped.

"You could say that," William sighed as he adjusted the new glasses on his head before scratching the back of his head. "Ummmm… Grell I should have said something before about Cirrus, but you were still in the hospital the last time I saw you and –"

"Don't worry about it," Grell stopped him, "I got everything out of my system Will… would you like me to walk you home? You're only a few houses down –"

"No that's alright," William dismissed the idea, "you just came from there –"

"_Please~?_" Grell asked in a lighter tone, William sighing as he gave him a nod of approval. Grell smiled and turned around, walking next to William as they passed by the houses again.

They looked at each other before quickly looking away, Grell looking into the houses again as William fumbled with his glasses nervously. Really, he wasn't used to starting up conversations. Anna was the only one he could talk to, since she had a charisma to bring his deepest thought out of him as if they were talking about the weather. Grell had the same energy, but he never liked to talk to him… especially since he got back… "Hey Grell," William began, coughing into his hand to get to red-head's attention, "ummm… If you won't mind me asking, but what exactly happened to you these past few months? You were gone for so long and you seem… different… Plus father said something about you saving him. What did you do?"

"… Questions, questions," Grell pouted, "always the questions huh?" Then Grell sighed, looking away from William as he rubbed his arm uncomfortably. "Look I don't want to talk about what happened right now. Can we leave the subject alone?"

"Y-yeah Grell," William nodded, "sure."

They both looked at the ground, the silent tension between them growing as they walked. Suddenly Grell growled under his breath, the killing silence as he turned his head back around before William looked back with a puzzled look on his face. "I'll just tell you this," Grell held up his finger, "but promise you won't tell anyone else. The council… I-I don't know what they'll do to me if I tell them _everything~_. I gave them what they wanted to keep them satisfied, but you'll keep our conversation secret right?"

"Yes," William answered, "now what is it – …" He watched as the red-head looked to the ground again, noticing how the light in his bright green eyes were slowly growing dull.

"… There was this one moment," Grell began, "and I guess it was a month ago… I don't know. It's hard to tell the exact time. There was this demon you see, a strong one… and… it was chasing me and then I was chasing it, but it was jumping around and went for a shinigami. So I did what I could do at the last second and stood in its way, getting a large gash in my chest. I-it's not bad though. Everything is healing up nicely." He grinned, rubbing his stomach as he chuckled lightly. "In other words, the shinigami must have been your father and I saved him from the demon. That's all," he shrugged, "I-I just didn't know it at the time. N-othing more and nothing less. Alright?"

"You… Grell what were you doing with demons –"

"You see this is what I mean!" Grell sneered. "The questions! I don't want to talk about that stuff like demons and the human realm right now –"

"B-but the demons…" William sighed as he looked to the ground feeling hurt. "… Did they hurt you? Even touch you? Did they burn you?"

"I-I don't know," Grell huffed, "and why should you care? It's not like **you** would care if I died. I'd just be another soul that got eaten by a demon, right? Or am I wrong –"

"Come on Grell," William frowned, "I didn't mean it offensively –"

"Then what?" Grell growled. "How could that **not** be offensive?... L-look. Maybe it's the drugs the nurse has been giving me or it's just me, but right now I don't feel like talking about anything. I just told you what happened with your father and I only did because you asked that specifically. Everything else is off limits right now… okay?" William nodded, keeping a look on his face that made Grell huff. "Anyways I should get back. Here's your house William. Maybe I'll see you tomorrow." Then he turned around and walked away, leaving William on the steps right outside of the fence leading up to the house. William watched till Grell disappeared from view, pouting as he grabbed the latch and let himself in.

!#$%^&*()

)(*&^%$#!

Grell sighed, running a hand through his hair as he walked down the road. He was starting to hate it here, **again**. That Undertaker guy hasn't even showed up for days, even weeks now he supposed. Grell was starting to feel lonely. He looked over to the rising sun, thinking to himself as he slowly stopped on the road and looked at the horizon. The little shinigami was regretting ever leaving his friends; after all they were the closest to family he ever came by. William, over time, seemed to stop talking to him. It was that girl, Cirrus right? Actually that girl was getting on his nerves and kept trying to talk to him. He didn't want anything to do with her, since Grell knew what happened to those who got close to him… Perhaps he's the one that's pushing everyone away. He didn't know… Grell sighed again, shaking his head and continuing down the road. He felt that if he let anyone else into his life that he would be putting them into danger. Why? "That damn bird," Grell growled, looking up at the wall surrounding the school; seeing a big, black crow staring at him. He couldn't shake a feeling of uneasiness ever since he noticed that bird. It was driving him crazy! It may have been nothing at first, but the color of the feathers and the red piercing eyes reminded him **too** much of a certain someone he met.

Besides, too many beings have died because of him. To put the others in danger would be selfish and Grell really didn't care if there were demons after him. Just as long as everyone was safe he didn't care – "Hey there's that nincompoop," Cirrus said, Grell rolling his eyes as he pulled his bag closer to his body and came into the courtyard. "Hey mister red-head," she continued as she stood in front of the other shinigami, "I still don't see why you won't fight me. Are you _scared~_?"

"No," Grell huffed as he noticed William walking through the courtyard and towards their classroom, "I just don't want to fight a girl –"

"You nancy boy!" Cirrus pouted, "Why not? A woman can fight just as well as a man. Besides I need to practice for being a full-fledged shinigami, and since I know you've fought demons before I figured you'd be good practice. Well?"

"For the last time no," Grell sighed, "Stop asking me every single time you see me. If you want to practice there's a training facility –"

"Yeah, but I can't go **there**!" Cirrus sighed, "I already tried. They said I'm too small and wouldn't be able to handle myself, but I can! Where I moved from we never had to ask _permission~_ to fight. We just agreed on some terms and brawled right there and then. So? Can we?"

"… Ummmm…" Grell looked away, "I don't know…"

"How about this," Cirrus said, "if I was a female demon and after your soul would you fight me?"

"No I'd probably let you kill me," Grell shrugged.

"Uhmmmm – Oh! If I was after a human soul you were supposed to reap would you fight me then?"

"… Yes," Grell shook his head as he walked to the doors and made his way down the hallway, "but only if I _feel~_ like it. Besides female demons are different than our own species… You can't put yourself as a demon since you're not."

"Whatever," Cirrus huffed, "but come on Grell! You know I won't stop asking till you do."

"… _Oh alright~_" he rolled his eyes and sighed, stopping in front of the door leading into their classroom and holding out his hand, "but we'll need to come up with the terms –"

"Don't worry I got that handled!" Cirrus grinned happily as she took his hand and shook it. "Lunchtime?"

"Sure," Grell nodded as he shook and they let go. "During lunch. Heh. It'd give me a reason to stay in school today."

"Why **do** you go?" Cirrus huffed as she opened the door and walked through it, not minding if Grell had trouble walking through the door or not.

"It gets boring here," Grell sighed, "and there's things I just don't care to learn. We're just born to reap soul, right? So what's with all of these practice forms we have to complete every day? A waste of time in my opinion."

"I agree with you there," Cirrus chuckled, "I don't see the point in the forms either –"

"The forms are to help categorize and evaluate every soul we reap," William interrupted her as he looked up from his book, "and school is a place to learn everything we'll need to know for the real world. That's why we learn how to write, read, count, and etcetera –"

"Yeah, yeah we get it," Cirrus shook her head. "Still don't see the point…" she mumbled under her breath. Grell nodded and sat down, noticing the teacher walking into the classroom about the start the class for today. As the lecture dragged on his eyes wondered outside the window, spotting that same black crow on a branch watching him from afar. He glared. Oh how he hated that raven.

)(*&^%$#!

!#$%^&*()

"Are you done eating **yet**?" Cirrus pouted.

"_Noooo~_" Grell huffed back, munching on his sandwich and biting into an apple. "Just give me another measly minute."

"Fine," Cirrus sighed, setting her bag down next to him and pulling out gear from her bag.

He eyed her suspiciously, watching as she took out gloves and put them on her hands. They were black like the mandatory gloves a shinigami had to wear with one's uniform, but yet they were different because they had extra padding and looked oversized for her hands. "Ummm… why?" Grell shrugged.

"We're fighting right?" Cirrus grinned.

"I never fought with those weird looking things," Grell pouted as he finished his food and threw the apple core behind him. "Can't we just fight normally? Fists and all that –"

"Hey alright!" Cirrus held up her hand, throwing the gloves off and grabbing four wrist weights from her bag, "but what about these. Too good for _little miss preppy~?_"

"Okay I can handle that," Grell shrugged, grabbing two weights from her hands and setting them down on top of his bag. He shook his head as she was starting to prepare herself, slipping off her black and red checkered sweater and putting the weights around her wrists. "Not here," Grell told her as he stood up and slung his bag over his shoulder. "There's a place with less people around to bother us. Besides we'll get detention if the teachers find us fighting."

"I wish you told me that **before** I got ready," Cirrus sneered, grabbing her sweater from the bench and swinging it over her shoulder. "… Well let's go then."

Grell shook his head and let her follow him, walking around the buildings towards the back and jumping onto a large trash can. He stepped onto the wall and jumped down, waiting for Cirrus to follow. "Well?" he said from the other side, Cirrus jumping down in the same manner and stumbling slightly as she landed on her feet. Grell grinned at the annoyed look on her face as he walked into the trees, only stepping a few feet from the wall into a clearing. "This is where I like to practice," Grell told her, Cirrus looking around and noticing holes and stripped bark on the trunks of the trees. He threw his stuff to the side, slowly putting the weights on his hands and tightening them as Cirrus looked around. "It's a nice little spot away from the school," he explained, "and far enough away so no one can hear you scream when I beat the bloody crap out of you."

"Oh is that **confidence** I_ here~?_" Cirrus snorted as she threw her sweater off to the side and raised her hands. "Come at me buster."

"I don't fight unless I'm provoked –" Grell jumped back, the girl jumping at him with her fists raised. Grell narrowed his eyes and strike back, holding up his palm to catch her punches before they hit his shoulder. "H-ow did you learn to fight?" he growled as he held her grip.

"My parents," she grinned. "We're famous for being fighters you see, and it comes in handy when you're up against demons I'm guessing." Grell smirked as they jumped apart, running at each other with as much speed as they could with their fists raised aimed for each other's faces.

!#$%^&*()

**A/N: Oup. And now you see Grell and Anne's relationship ^^ _hehe~_. Not exactly straight clean is it? And Grell's fighting a _girl~_? Oh boy he's in for a world of hurt XD Anyways I hope you've enjoyed this chapter. If you guys have any more ideas PLEASE tell me them. I'm running out of filler ideas to connect one section of the story to another. And Phantom of the Fiction, don't worry about your OC. She'll show up soon enough ^^ (though I do have a question. Do you want her to be around for a LONG time, or just for a chapter or two? =3) SEE YOU NEXT TIME! =D**


	16. The Aggravation

Kuroshitsuji © Yana Toboso

OCs © reaper-of-lost-souls

Cirrus © Madame Grell

Faye © Phantom of the Fiction

**A/N: Well sorry. I've been tuned out for a while (and still working on getting my chapters up) but I have the next one. So here it is! **

!#$%^&*()

"Hey I didn't beat you up **too** much did I?" Grell chuckled nervously, wrapping his bleeding arm as the two shinigamis sat on the grass tending their wounds. "I tend to get carried away."

"No you were great," Cirrus smirked back as she was bandaging her hands with white bandages, "I wasn't expecting you to be so fierce. I learned something today."

"That's how demons are I suppose," Grell sighed. "They fight and fight till they obtain their meal or die trying. So you can't back down."

"Yeah, yeah," Cirrus snorted, "… I always wondered how your experience was in the human realm? I've only heard of one other person doing that, but that was where I grew up."

"I'd rather not talk about it," Grell responded, standing up and putting his first aid kit back into his bag. "We'd better get back to school. The bell is going to ring in a few more minutes."

"We've been out here for hours?" Cirrus gasped suddenly looking at her watch. "Oh… must have lost track of the time…"

"Don't fret about it," Grell shrugged, "they don't care anyways. Here I'll show you the way back." Cirrus stood up and grabbed her things, following Grell as he walked against the wall for a while till they came upon a place where the wall had been damaged and low enough for them to jump onto the top. Grell threw his bag over the wall and jumped up, swinging his feet around till he was up on the wall. He held out his hand for Cirrus and she took it, using her feet to swing over the side of the wall and rolling off on the other side. Grell chuckled as he jumped down and grabbed his bag, Cirrus getting to her feet and brushing the dirt off her white shirt. She was mumbling something under her breath that Grell couldn't understand in a different language, but he shrugged it off once she looked up and they made their way back to the buildings.

"Hey guys – My god what did you do this time Grell?" William frowned, Grell grinning at him slyly as he spat some excess blood from his mouth.

"Oh just training of course," Grell chuckled as he wiped his mouth, "isn't that right Cirrus?"

"Nah I just wanted to beat up Grell," Cirrus shrugged. "Well I have to go. See you tomorrow."

The two boys waved as Cirrus dashed to the other side of the building, grabbing hold of an adult's hand as she talked about the work she'd done that day. "… Do you need someone to walk you home?"

"No I'm alright," William responded, moving his glasses as he tried to come up with a conversation. "So… you seem to be opening up to Cirrus."

"I suppose," Grell shrugged, "but she wouldn't leave me alone. I bet you she'll find something better to do tomorrow. Oh and by the way, she finds you boring."

"Yeah I know," William shrugged back. "… You've been avoiding me haven't you?"

"… And what if I have?" Grell pouted. "What will you do if I have?"

"I was just asking," he sighed, "because you're tense about something."

"I'm not tense," Grell narrowed his eyes, "I'm _perfectly~_ fine. There's just some… just some things that I'm working out right now. If you don't need someone to walk to home then I'm leaving for the orphanage. See you."

"G-goodbye," William waved, watching as Grell left him alone on the school grounds.

!#$%^&*()

)(*&^%$#!

Grell let out a tired yawn as he walked along the road, making his way to the school as the sun began to rise behind his back. He had taken his breakfast with him, sneaking in a few pieces of toast before anyone noticed he had come and gone, and decided to get to school early. He always did on days like today, before the weather got warm or cold depending on what the weather would be today. Plus he needed time to think and looking over his shoulder all the time wasn't a way of doing so. He would travel to school early for two big reasons: to avoid the bullies and he knew William would be there. He took that time to tease the other boy because he'd have his nose stuck in a book for one reason or another, but if the subject peaked his interest he'd unknowingly read over his shoulder. Also he used that time to get caught up in the class, which was not usually difficult. Grell greedily munched on the rest of his toast, brushing the crumbs with his sleeves and looking around. He narrowed his eyes. "That damn bird," Grell growled, the large black crow with red eyes looking over at him and cocking his head to the side. "Ugh," he sighed in defeat, trying the shrug the bird out of his mind as he walked into the school and through the courtyard.

It annoyed him to have that bird watching him from a distance. Mostly because it was **always** there. He'd see it as he woke up outside the window of the orphanage, while he was walking to school, right outside the classroom window in the courtyard, and practically anywhere he went. And that crow was always looking at him, his red eyes piercing into his soul and making him feel guilty, but why feel guilty? That's the thing that infuriated him, feeling guilty. He had nothing to feel guilty about! And why was he feeling guilty? He had no reason to! Just because that darn raven wouldn't leave him alone. Grell walked into the school and down the hallway to his classroom, grinning once he noticed that William was there early like he always was. "_Hello~~_" Grell said as he walked into the classroom, sitting in his seat close to the back and on the side where the window sat. The teacher decided to rearrange the seating order a few days ago and he was now sitting behind William and next to Cirrus. Though he wished he was back sitting next to William because then he could look into the soul of his neighbor while they took their tests. Oh well. He'd just have to study harder when it came to the math and science portions of class. Wow his mind wandered off, noticing that William hadn't given him a hello back when he sat behind him and started shuffling through his bag. "So what happened yesterday?" Grell asked out of habit.

"If you had **been** here yesterday instead of running around with Cirrus then I wouldn't have to tell you," William huffed, setting his book down and turning around in his chair.

"_Aw~_ don't be that way _William~_" Grell grinned, snickering when he saw the other's eyebrow twitch. "Besides I didn't have choice. Damn these girls. Just the other day someone came up to me and asked if I was doing something that afternoon. It's creeping me out."

"I think she's trying to ask you out," William suggested, Grell's mouth opening slightly as he huffed.

"That's horrid!" Grell yelped, "I mean, think of the cooties!"

"Cooties are head lice Grell," William sighed, "and they have nothing to do with gender –"

"Well I **must** be getting sick then if I didn't notice this sooner!" Grell responded getting hysterical. "I mean come on Will. Why would a girl come up to me and ask that stuff? It's not like I changed or anything… I think."

"I don't know," William shrugged, "because I don't know how a girl's mind works. Anyways don't worry about it. It's probably because you were gone so long that everyone is curious about what happened. Plus you beat up those older boys the day you got back. That story spread like wildfire."

"Ugh my life," Grell groaned as he slammed his head into his desk. "… So _William~_" he grinned as he quickly lifted his head and smiled at the other boy, "what did you do yesterday?"

"Let's see…" William thought as if he hadn't asked the question already, "We reviewed the various sectors in London and around the world, and then worked on the proper penmanship for writing a form if a demon was involved with a human. Then we did some arithmetic, geometry to be precise, and finished the day with a literature reading. Our teacher said we would start the day finishing our forms, then spending the rest of class reviewing the reading we were supposed to have done last night."

"What's the reading?" Grell sighed, grabbing his large literature book from his bag and waiting for William to answer.

"William Shakespeare –"

"OHMYGOSHWHYDIDN'TYOUTELLME?" Grell screamed, flipping right to the back of the book where he knew the famous poet's work would be. "What are you doing exactly?"

William smirked, turning his back to hide the grin on his face as he looked at his notes. "We started off discussing Hamlet, Macbeth, and we had an in class reading of Julius Caesar. Lastly we went over Romeo and Juliet at the end of class, and the teacher wanted us to read Venus and Adonis, The Rape of Lucrece, and if we'd like read A Lover's Complaint as a supplemental to The Rape of Lucrece."

"Oh I can't believe I missed Romeo and Juliet!" Grell pouted, William sighing as he shook his head, "but ending Shakespeare with his romance poems_ I see~_. Well I doubt that silly excuse of a lecturer will know the parallels between the two so I suppose I'll stay here and tell him," he grinned triumphantly.

"My god Grell," William sighed, "don't get in trouble. Besides we barely made any comments –"

"All the more reason for me to stay," he grinned. "Well I guess I'll read before the others get here," Grell shrugged as he opened his book to one of the poems and began to read. William nodded and turned his attention back to his own book, taking notes as he finished his homework before class.

)(*&^%$#!

"… but the sexual tension is _flawless~~_" Grell decided to make a point to the teacher as he kept his finger on the passage he was reading.

"_'Lie quietly, and hear a little more;  
>Nay, do not struggle, for thou shalt not rise:<br>To make thee hate the hunting of the boar,  
>Unlike myself thou hear'st me moralize,<br>Applying this to that, and so to so;  
>For love can comment upon every woe.<em>

"_'Where did I leave?' 'No matter where,' quoth he,  
>'Leave me, and then the story aptly ends:<br>The night is spent.' 'Why, what of that?' quoth she.  
>'I am,' quoth he, 'expected of my friends;<br>And now 'tis dark, and going I shall fall.'  
>'In night,' quoth she, 'desire sees best of all<em> –"

"Yes Grell I understand that," the teacher shook his head and turned his head to his notes, "but that is not what we are discussing –"

"Well we **should** be," he pouted. "This is _boring~~!_! Who cares about the similarities? It's a great work of art! Right William?"

"Don't get me involved," William huffed, Grell huffing back as he stood to his feet.

"You're all a bunch of imbeciles," Grell snuffed, throwing his books in his bag and dashing out the door.

"If you leave again I'm going to give you a suspension –"

"Go right ahead! I don't see a reason for you to keep me here like a princess locked away in a towe – OOHPTH!" Grell took a step back and rubbed his nose, irritated as he tried to leave the room, but something was blocking his way at the door.

"Mr. Undertaker!" the teacher gasped, Grell looking up and squinting his eyes at the much taller man.

Undertaker looked down and gave him a quick grin, Grell's face turning red before he shook his head with a snarl on his lips and took a step away. "May I speak with you for a minute? It won't take long."

"O-of course Mr. Undertaker," the teacher nodded, pushing past Grell and slamming the door behind him.

"Oh come on!" Grell snarled, the class snickering at him as he turned around with a huff and threw his bag back on his desk.

"Your plan didn't work **this** time, did it?" William decided to say, throwing water on the immense burn that was already in his growl.

"Whatever William," Grell sighed, plopping down in his chair and looking out the window. He grumbled as he stared, still angry at being stopped from leaving the room. Why out of all the weeks he hadn't seen the Undertaker he had to see him **then**? Did he feel like a fool? No. He felt hurt that it took so long for the older man to even show up. Those sweet words he gave him were all for naught, Grell had quickly realized after a few weeks of being left alone at the orphanage. Well he will not stand for it any longer!

Grell stood up and threw the window open, throwing his pack on his shoulder and climbing out the crack he had created as his escape. "Grell!" William jumped to his feet and grabbed his arm as he swung his legs out the window and was hanging on with his elbows. "What are you doing now? You'll get in **worse** trouble then you already do –"

"Can it William," Grell sneered. "Let me go or so help me I'll find a way to make your life a living hell."

"You already do that," William sneered back, letting go of his arm and causing Grell to fall out of the window onto the ground. "You're crazy," he said out the window, Grell standing to his feet and wiping the dust from his pants.

"Maybe I am," Grell hissed, "but if I stay in this hellhole one more day, I _really~_ **will** go crazy! – AND SHUT UP YOU STUPID BIRD!" Grell yelled throwing a rock at the raven perched just a few feet from him. He narrowed its eyes as the bird jumped away and squawked at him, taking off into flight seeing as the boy wouldn't tolerate him being so close to him right now. Grell let out a tired sigh, holding a hand to his nose trying to compose himself. "Now if you need me I'm going to go for a walk," he sighed as he put his hand down and opened his eyes staring over at William. "You can tell that rat of a teacher that his assumptions to the arts are as false as his hair. Bye," he finished bluntly, pulling his bag up on his shoulder and walking through the courtyard and out the gates.

William watched till Grell disappeared as he took a turn down the road, sighing as he closed the window and sat back in his seat. He listened to his classmates' gossip about Grell, looking over at the empty seats next to him and looking back to his book. Did Grell **always** have to cause trouble? Yes. It was in his nature, he supposed. "Where's Miss Raven?" he thought quietly aloud, noticing her seat was also vacant. If he hadn't felt more alone and disappointed it was right this moment, since no one else bothered to talk to him it seems –

"Thank you," the teacher said as he bowed slightly as he came back into the classroom getting William's attention, "I'll make sure everyone is here." William raised an eyebrow as the Undertaker mumbled something back to the man, the door closing as the teacher looked back at his notes and began writing something on the board. "Now class the connection between The Rape of Lucrece and A Lover's Complaint is –"

"Grell took off," a student decided to mention, her hand raised as she shoved the long blond braid from her shoulder so her hand could be a smidgen higher.

"Wait what did you say?" the man asked as he looked at the room to the vacant seats in the back.

"Mr. Grell and Miss Cirrus didn't show up today," she repeated herself, blinking her big blue eyes at him as the realization finally hit him. "I figured you wanted to know since you just said you'd make sure everyone is here –"

"Thank you Miss Brittford," the teacher nodded as he stood up. "Excuse me class. **Don't any of you move**." He threw open the door and ran down the hall, the students looking over their desks at the door as they heard him screaming for the Undertaker to wait.

"What was **that** all about?" someone asked once the door swung shut.

"You're such a tattle tale Faye," a girl beside her decided to say.

"Nuh uh," Faye pouted as she crossed her hands over her chest. "I just figured the teacher should know. Does anyone know what's going on around here?"

"Nope," a boy said beside her as he leaned towards her desk, "but what are you doing later?"

"Not hanging out with you, **creep**," the girl beside her huffed, pushing the boy over as he toppled backwards and fell onto the ground. William shook his head and turned his attention back to his book, the mindless squabbling of his classmates boring him. Just why was the teacher in such a rush just then? And to have the Undertaker show up of all people. William had a feeling something was up and he looked out the window. Should he go or stay? Go or stay? –

"I bet you that red-headed bastard will get himself into trouble again," William heard from another boy from across the hall. A few of the others laughed at his joke, William not taking it anymore as he threw open the window and began to climb out.

"W-woh wait!" Faye yelped once she saw William climbing out. "We expect those things from Grell, but **you're** going to run away too?"

"Isn't that against the rules?" another classmate commented as William let out a huff and landed on his feet.

"I have a liable reason to do the things I'm doing," he told them, "and I'm going to go find Grell. Could you keep watch over my stuff Miss Brittford?"

"O-oh sure –" Faye paused as she watched William take off across the courtyard and towards the direction he saw Grell wander off in.

"What's **that** all about?" the girl beside her asked.

"I-I don't know," Faye answered, "but to have our classmates run off and go missing? What exactly is going on around here…"

)(*&^%$#!

!#$%^&*()

"Undertaker!" the teacher held up his hand before the man walked into the principal's office. "My. Stu-dents," he gasped as he put his hands on his knees to regain his breath.

Undertaker grinned and patted his back more forcefully then he had to, the shinigami coughing and clearing his throat. "What about your students –"

"You know how you told me there's strange activity about?" the teacher commented, the Undertaker nodding uninterested hoping he would get to the point, "Well one student didn't show up to school today and another took off before I could give them the news –"

"That is a predicament," the Undertaker commented slyly as he opened the door, letting himself into the principal's office. "How many students are missing today?"

"According to the enrollment it's another six," a man in a large chair turned to face them as he sighed. "Is this the work of a demon Undertaker?"

"Demon!" the teacher gasped, Undertaker holding his hand up to him to silence him as he continued to look at the principal.

"We have suspicion that the woods bordering the shinigami realm and the human realm was somehow unlocked by one of our own," Undertaker explained to the man sitting in the chair. "We have rules against shinigamis going to those woods, but you know children. They try breaking the rules _somehow~_"

The principal sighed. "So at least one demon has come through. What is the plan?"

"Keep the children here for the rest of the day," Undertaker explained, "and if we haven't found the culprits by the end of the day keep the school under lockdown. Now if there's nothing else –"

"Who were the two children that left?" the principal asked the shinigami standing beside Undertaker.

"Miss Cirrus Jane Raven did not show up this morning and Mr. Grell Sutcliff left before I could keep the children in the classroom," the teacher explained.

"I see – Undertaker where are you going?" the principal asked as the man turned around aiming to leave the room.

"I'm going out to _hunt~~_" Undertaker looked back and gave the two shinigamis a vicious grin, the teacher standing back in shock as the principal stared stoically till the man closed the door behind him and left the room.

"That man," the principal grumbled under his breath and put his head in his hand. "You heard what the man said. Go back to your class. I'll call the other teachers and fill them in on the situation."

"Y-yes sir," the man bowed, leaving the office and hustling back to his classroom before he got caught in the hallways by another shinigami.

!#$%^&*()

**A/N: _Oh~_, Someone's in trouble. Get ready for some excitement next time ;D And look at that Undertaker is back! I wonder what'll happen (actually if you have any good ideas say them now. I'm still writing in the excitement =3 Like if you want people to die… or live… or get injured. That sort of thing =D) Oh. And I have a new poll up. So _please~~_ fill it out. I'd like to try my hand at short stories and I want to see what you guys like (and if you have an idea too that'd be great! =D)**

Venus and Adonis, The Rape of Lucrece, and A Lover's Complaint by William Shakespeare


	17. The Invasion

Kuroshitsuji © Yana Toboso

OCs © reaper-of-lost-souls

Cirrus © Madame Grell

**A/N: Sorry this took longer than I thought to post. I was writing something else and got sidetracked. Plus I had a lot of things going on last weekend, but here's another chapter! I hope you guys enjoy this next one. I figured you've been waiting for a while… ENJOY!**

!#$%^&*()

Grell pulled his coat closer to his body, the air suddenly getting thicker as he ventured down the road. "That's weird," he thought aloud to himself. To have fog falling upon the ground in this weather was highly unusual, but then again this was England. There's been worse weather here than this, but when the weather was so bright and sunny the other day? Grell gulped. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he didn't like the looks of things. "Oh Grell!" he heard someone yell, his head moving up when he saw Cirrus dashing down the street out of breath.

"Hey Cirrus," he raised an eyebrow, "where the fire –"

"Look no time for jokes," she huffed, grabbing his hand and spinning him around. "My dad is holding them off right now, but if we hurry they won't get us –"

"Who? What are you talking about?" Grell narrowed his eyes, pulling his hand away from Cirrus as she glared back.

"Look we don't have time –"

"If you expect me to turn back around give me a reason why!" he growled.

"You know what? Do what you want! I'm heading to school in one piece, unlike **you**," Cirrus huffed as she took off down the road where Grell came from, leaving him in the middle of the road with the fog increasing and causing him to cough.

"Shit what is so scary over there?" he coughed, swiping the fog with his hand and trying to glance down the road. Grell sighed, shaking his head and turning back around scratching the back of his head. Well he might as well head back. It can't be good staying out here –

"AAAAHHHHHHHH!" He heard down the road.

"Cirrus!" he yelled back, dashing down the road and swatting the fog away with his hand. Grell ran towards the scream till his feet couldn't take it anymore, stopping as he let out a pant and collected himself before he went on. His eyes widened too late as a body smashed into his, pushing him to the ground as he let out a groan and looked up. "W-william?" Grell looked at the boy on top of him as he rolled off and brushed the dust from his clothes. "What the hell –"

"Apparently the grownups want us to stay at the school so I came to find you," William explained as he helped the boy up, "but then I heard you scream –"

"That wasn't me," Grell told him, "but Cirru –"

"SHIT! GET AWAY FROM ME!" They heard off of the road, a growl escaping Grell's lips as he grabbed a small standard death scythe out of his bag and shoved his stuff in William's hand.

"Go back to the school and I'll meet you there –"

"What do you plan on doing?" William asked as his eyes widened in shock. "Whatever is out there will kill you –"

"So?" Grell huffed. "Just turn around like the little puppet you are and – What are you doing?" he raised an eyebrow as William tied the bag securely around his body and pulled out a small pocket knife.

"You don't think I'd let you die alone, did you?" William snarled as his eyes went dark and he pushed past Grell towards the deserted road where they heard the scream. Grell raised an eyebrow as William walked down the road without expecting an answer, a smirk coming to his face as he followed behind him. For all they knew they could be walking into a trap, but hopefully they could get out of this with skills alone.

Grell stared blankly in the darkness, looking for movement as he slid past William with his scythe clutched tightly in his hands ready to strike at any moment. His bright green shinigami eyes pierced through the fog till he saw a couple of figures in the distance, his sharp teeth showing off in the gleam of the thinned light as he moved his hand back and throwing the scythe towards the figures. The demon let out a cry as the blade crushed into his arm, letting go of Cirrus as she stumbled to the ground and jumped away. "GRELL!" she yelped, kicking the demon in the shin as she ran over to them to compile herself. William grabbed her arm and hid her behind him, watching as Grell dashed over to the demon to retrieve his death scythe.

The demon snarled as he slashed at Grell's body, ripping his arm away from the wall as he aimed for the boy's throat. Knowingly he elegantly glide past his hand and retrieved the scythe, slashing into the demon's side as it cried out and fell to the ground in pain. "Piece of trash," Grell huffed as he held the scythe above his head, "there's more of you aren't there?"

"W-wait you're just a child –"

"That killed a few hundred to thousand of your pathetic kind every night _for fun~~_" Grell grinned insanely. Without giving time for the demon to answer back he threw down the scythe and stabbed the demon's chest, ripping from the top of its shoulder to the other end of its body in one swift motion. Grell wiped the blood from his face with his sleeve, which was a failed attempt on his part, and looked over at the two shinigamis staring at him in shock.

"Thousands?" William looked at him questionably. "What the hell did you do –"

"We don't have time for this," Grell sighed as he nudged William in the arm so he'd turn around back down the road. "How are you Cirrus?"

"I could have handled myself, **thank you**," she grumbled under her breath, crossing her arms over her chest trying to keep her gaze off of Grell.

"I don't know what's going on," William huffed as he scratched the back of his head, "but let's get back to the school before something comes by to kill us –"

"Yeah we get it Will," Grell huffed as he pushed past him and walked confidently down the road. "Cirrus do you have your own weapon?"

"Yes," she grinned as she pulled out two small knives from under her black skirt and twirled them in her hands as she gripped them tightly in her hand, "and I would have been fine if _you~_ hadn't butted in and killed the demon before I could."

"Well there's plenty of time for that later," Grell smirked before the smile on his face waned, "but right now Will's right. We should head back."

"That's right," William answered as he roughly pushed past Grell's arm, "and its _William~_, not Will."

"William, shillam," Grell shrugged. "Let's just get out of here before another demon comes by." Keeping close to each other the three shinigami children argued and made their way back to the school, but as they wandered blindly in the fog they didn't notice the pairs of red glowing eyes peering down upon them from the rooftops.

!#$%^&*()

)(*&^%$#!

Cirrus brushed the fog from her face, quickly noticing the university and secondary school coming into view. "Thank god we're almost there," she huffed and blew a lock of her hair from her face.

"We can go inside and tell – Grell what is it now?" William sighed, the duo stopping as they watched Grell look towards the large buildings off of the road directly where they were standing.

Grell scratched the back of his head, his stomach doing somersaults as he took a step off of the road. "Is it just me or does that place feel uneasy –"

"I don't understand what you're getting at," Cirrus huffed, "but I'm getting back to the school –"

"No we should stick together," William told her before turning his gaze back to Grell, "that means **all** of us –" They paused, hearing a faint yell coming from one of the abandoned buildings.

"Just like I suspected," Grell grinned triumphantly. "Look you two can go back, but I'm going to see how many demons are really here –"

"Grell don't do something stupid," William narrowed his eyes. "You have a tendency to do that –"

"William, _darling~_" Grell smirked as he pressed a finger to William's chest and pushed him towards Cirrus slightly, "I'll be fine on my own. Besides you can go back and tell the teachers. They're probably looking for us after all."

"Fine." Cirrus stomped her foot and turned around, "Let's go Spears." Before William could say another word she roughly pulled on his arm and dragged him away, Grell turning his gaze to the buildings as he sneaked off of the road and silently hustled to a wall. He was right; Grell could feel a small group of shinigamis in there, but also demons. Those demons didn't feel strong, so Grell did the natural thing he could do and investigate the situation.

He climbed up the side to the top of the roof, peering over to look through a window into the space. It was a large space really, reminding him of the abandoned warehouse building he had spent many months of his life in. Grell saw a group of shinigami children tied up in the center, a child or two whimpering in fear as hungry-eyed demons circled around them. Well he would have to be swift about this and save them, but it looked to him that they were about to rip into them and start feeding. "_What a juicy little soul you are~_" a demon hissed, grabbing hold of the back of a shinigami girl's collar and easily pulled her up, licking her neck as she let out a whimper and trembled in his grip. "Do we _**really~**_ have to wait? It's getting bothersome to wait for him –"

"No our leader said he'd be back with a strong and tainted soul," the demon beside him licked his lips, "and I can't **wait** to dig into that baby soul."

"Fine," the demon huffed as he dropped the tied up child on the ground and she let out a squeak, "who is it anyways?"

"I really don't know," the other demon poked his chin as he thought, "but apparently this soul has been ostracized by his own kind and close to going insane. They met it on the streets of London and followed him back here. Someone said we should turn that sniveling shinigami into a demon, but then we couldn't eat him!"

"Yeah," the demon chuckled, "we wouldn't want to waste _perfectly~ _good food." He grinned slyly as he picked up the girl again, this time his eyes gleaming red as he stared into her frightened little green eyes. "Only so much as an infant," he smirked, widening his mouth as his sharp canine teeth ripped into the girl's neck and she screamed in pain. The other shinigamis winced and looked away, horrified as they watched the demon take down one of their own and throw her to the ground once he had his fill. "_Awwwww~ delicious~~_" He licked his lips and sat back down, his companion shaking his head as Grell quickly looked away with his hand clasped over his mouth in an attempt to stop from gagging.

Grell was hesitant. These were frightfully powerful demons, not as powerful as Raven, but stronger than the average demons he had met on the street. And who was that shinigami they were talking about? He shook his head and sneaked into the building, keeping his eyes on the demons as he rushed to hide behind an office drawer and watch their next move. "That's it I'm hungry!" a third demon stood up and hustled over to the children, his teeth snarling as drool rolled down his mouth.

"My god you're drooling," a demon sighed, rolling her eyes as he grabbed hold of a child by his neck and brought him up to his mouth.

The child screamed as the demon opened its mouth to rip into the child, his eyes suddenly widening in shock as he felt his grip loosening and the child falling to the ground. The demon screamed in horror alerting the other demons in the building, looking at the bleeding stub of an arm left as he groaned and fell backward to the ground. "Someone found us!" a demon called to the others, scattering towards the exits in an attempt to leave.

A demon narrowed her eyes once she saw the shinigami responsible for cutting off their comrade's hand. "A mere child?" she huffed as Grell set the steel board in place to keep the doors in place. "What is a little critter like yourself doing here, _little boy~_ –" The demons looked in horror as the woman screamed in pain, Grell revealing the death scythe from behind his clothes and slashing her stomach wide open. With another swift motion her heart was flung across the room, chopping off her head and throwing her head clear across the other side of the room to make sure the demon wouldn't be able to revive itself.

"You monster!" another demon sneered, running at full speed at Grell as he held up his scythe and jumped onto the wall. Pushing his feet off of the wall he let out a yell, hacking the demon into two as he fell to the ground and his guts splattered all over the place.

Grell smirked, the demons narrowing their eyes and putting up their guard. "You know I thought you demons would have been more of a challenge," he grinned before his face suddenly got dark, "but I guess I was wrong." He let out another yell as he charged towards the demons while they scurried away, a couple instantly falling prey to the death as while a few escaped through the windows before he could get them. He chased after them as the children watched in horror, a devious, creepy grin on the boy's face as he hacked demon after demon in two.

Once the demons and Grell left through the windows the children went back to freeing themselves, a boy whipping out a pocket knife and cutting the ropes for the child next to him. Once he had freed himself he took the knife and cut the rope for the others, a few of the children clinging to an older shinigami as they whimpered in fear. "Hey it's okay," one of them responded in a comforting way, "we'll be back in a minute."

Once they were untied they ran to the door, opening the steel bar that held close the door and gradually pushed it open. As they gazed upon the demon bodies on the ground a few shrieked and clamped their mouths shut with their hands while others turned away in disgust. They jumped back as Grell jumped down from the roof, panting lightly as his dark shinigami green eyes stared over at them. "Well?" he huffed. "Let's go! We don't have a lot of time before more demons arrive. I doubt that's the last of them."

They nodded and ran out the building, making their way back to the road and hustling to the closest building they were at. That would actually be the primary school where William and Cirrus ran off, and Grell frowned that they were waiting for him at the gates. "S-so they had children captured?" William frowned.

"Yes," Grell sighed as he ran a hand through his bloody hair, "and we already lost a few."

"You win some and you lose some," Cirrus shrugged as William and Grell looked over at her in shock. "Let's get inside before any come back. The doors seem to be locked though."

"What?" Grell shrieked, pushing past the children as he grabbed a door and tried to pull it open.

"They must have locked it for security measures –"

"Well if we don't get in there we'll all be demon food," Grell snarled at William, a few of the children whimpering beside him as he slammed his arm into the door. "Here you guys try to break down the door. I'll see if there's something else to bust the door down with." William watched as Grell ran off towards the courtyard, ripping apart a metal pipe from the equipment and rushing back over. "Here use this," Grell coughed slightly as he handed over the pipe, the taller, much stronger shinigamis using their might to strike down the door as the others backed away against the wall waiting for the door to come down.

William frowned, noticing the sting of blood escaping Grell's mouth as he rubbed his chest. "G-grell?" William asked as he came towards the boy, "A-are you alright?"

Grell huffed, pushing his arm away and snarling, "I'm fine Will –" Grell paused, noticing the fear openly clear in the other's eyes. Then he sighed, looking over at the gates and having William turn around. "You stay with the group. They won't know what to do without your guidance. I'll fend off any demons that come by while you're trying to break down the door… alright?"

"Sure Grell," William sighed, "whatever you say." They parted and William stood beside Cirrus with his arms crossed, looking down at the ground with a worried expression on his face as he heard the door _**'creak'**_ and _**'groan'**_ with every push and shove the other shinigamis made.

Grell held in a breath of air before exhaling, looking all around him before his eyes landed on the gates, waiting for a demon to come through and dash towards them through the courtyard. The courtyard should give him enough time to react, but it would be safer for the others to already be inside before he defended the school. Besides he had nothing to live for anyways. Might as well die here defending his friends from foul, disgusting demons. Then he heard movement, the children stopping as they heard rustling close by. "Keep going," Grell told them, "and once you're inside lock the door."

"But you –"

"I'll be fine," Grell snorted, "now hurry."

)(*&^%$#!

**A/N: And I close with a cliffhanger XD *runs behind door and locks it before anyone can hit me with a bunch of books* Anyways I'm sorry again that I've had to stop here. And anyone you'd like to see die? Just go ahead and say so! I don't mind your guys' ideas. SEE YOU LATER!**


	18. The Veiled Rage

Kuroshitsuji © Yana Toboso

OCs © reaper-of-lost-souls

Cirrus © Madame Grell

**A/N: Wow guys! I didn't think I'd post another chapter again! I've simply been busy with school and other stories. Besides this story was created as a side story. It is something to write in my free time if I had writer's block or didn't want to work on homework. Though it was hard to finish this part, I'll tell you that. A lot of fighting and my mind would come and go from this story. I decided to post this asap even though I don't have another chapter written yet. Figured you'd want to see what happens to the little shinigamis and to Grell, so here we go!**

! #$%^&*()

Out of the corner of his eye the boy saw movement, but Grell couldn't tell where the creature went as it moved into the nearby bushes. He clutched his scythe tightly in his hands and then let out a yell, jumping into the bushes and slashing at the demon. It screeched in surprise and the boy cut him with ease, kicking his body down the alley and smashing into the trash. Then they all came at once, Grell having to jump back into place and running at the demons coming his way. He slashed and hacked, hacked and slashed, running around in circles as the demons tried to pin him down. He wouldn't back down, he wouldn't give up, glancing over at William before he growled and decapitated a demon next to him. Grell's mind was on the other demons as a darker presence came towards him from behind, standing a few feet away from the fighting with a vicious grin plastered on its face. "Doesn't that creature hold a familiar scent?"

"What sir –"

"**The boy**," he snarled grabbing the demon who questioned him by the collar of his clothing, "he seems… familiar, an _unnerving~_ familiar." The demon next to him sniffed, the other rolling his eyes. "Get in there and do something," he huffed, pushing the hesitant demon as he stepped a few feet off balance before lunging at the boy.

Grell's eyed the approaching demons, demons descending upon him from left and from right. He may have been fighting multitudes of demons, but he had strategies back then and the demons were now much stronger and craftier then the ones in London. One strike to the chest and he was thrown out of the circle, landing on his back as his eyes went wide and he scooted backward to his feet. "Shit!" he yelled, throwing the blade of his death scythe at the demons and snarling as they deviously walked towards him. He gulped. The others weren't through the door yet, but perhaps he could do something else to speed up the process. "Hey over here!" he waved his hands, running as fast as he could towards the building.

William looked up in shock, seeing that he was going to smash into the window, "GRELL WHAT –"

Glass exploded as a demon rammed into him, Grell snarling and biting down hard on the demon's arm as it wrapped around his head and tried to snap his neck. The children inside the room shrieked and moved away from the window as the two fell to the ground, Grell yelling and smashing the blade of the scythe into the demon's chest. It roared and tried to throw him aside, Grell's teeth ripping into his flesh till he let go and had his hands around the demon's neck. With one swift movement he hacked into the demon's neck, the creature dropping like a fly and flopping dead on the ground. Grell stood on top of the demon's back and let out loud pants, looking over at the teacher and noticing how young the children were compared to him. "Ummm…" Grell lifted a finger before setting it down. "There's a bunch of kids out there and they're trying to get through the door."

"But if we open those doors the demons will –"

"Leave the demons to me," Grell huffed as he jumped off of the body and stepped onto the frame of the windowsill. "Barricade that door and put the kids in a different room. Then open the front doors. Any second wasted may cause someone else's death. Understood?"

"Yes –" Before the teacher could answer Grell already jumped out the door, his eyes going wide at what was going on in front of him.

! #$%^&*()

"What did Grell do –"

"Cirrus look out!" William yelled, pushing the girl to the side as a demon ran up to them and tried to grab hold of her.

William's eyes shut closed and he whimpered away, his body shielding Cirrus from any harm. The odd thing was that he didn't feel anything; slowly opening his eyes till a loud cry came from behind him. "Dad!" Cirrus cried out, the man standing in front of them shuddering as he held his chest and staggered as he turned to stare at the children.

"C-cirrus," he began to say, turning his head so he could see Cirrus' frightened face. "I'm sorry about this –"

"N-no dad –"

"Don't end up like your mother okay?" he smiled to her, turning his head and snarling as his double-iris green eyes stared deeply into the demon to rip his chest. Blood began to splatter out of his chest as he ran at the demon, yelling as loud as he could as he embedded his scythe into the demon's chest before he went down with a _**'thud'**_. Grell stood staring at them stunned, shaking his head as he dashed at the demons and began to cut into them again. He ignored the screaming and cries behind him, his blade slashing around him like a rainbow of death and hacking the demons apart. His eyes held a malice you shouldn't see in a child, fueled by the anger of seeing one of his own, an elder no less, falling to their death instead of him. Perhaps if he stalled the man may live, if the teachers can get the door opened in time. There was blood dripping down his face and he had to wipe his forehead, unsure if it was his own blood or a demon's. Still he pursues them, hoping another shinigami will come by to help him. The fallen man seemed to be the only one, but stalling may bring others. He wouldn't let another one fall, he couldn't let that happen –

"Ah yes I remember you," a demon stepped forward, the others taking a few steps back. Grell raised an eyebrow, noticing the respect these demons were giving to one of their own. "You must be uh… who's that shinigami we killed a few years ago?"

"You mean Edwin Lavern –"

"No the other one – Ah yes!" he realized, chuckling deeply and taking a few steps towards Grell. "I know who you are. You must be Gerald Sutcliff's kid –"

"That's enough!" Grell hissed at him and took a step forward. "Shut up, you bloody demon! Shut up!" Grell was trembling; he didn't want to know. He didn't want to know what this demon knew about Anna's parents; they were dead. They were dead to him and he didn't want to think about them. He didn't want to care, but in the back of his mind he wondered if what Anna said was true? Was he related to her in some way? And if not why did the demon suddenly think he was related to a man he had never met?

The demon smirked, noticing the boy's confusion and started knocking the little shinigami off of the confidence he had built up over the months. "How about I make a deal with you?" the demon chuckled, Grell's eyes wide when he noticed how close the demon was to him. "If I can take you away with us then we'll leave your friends alone."

"But sir, what about –"

"Shut up," he snarled. "Don't you see it?" Grell gulped. His mind fluttered away to the moment he had with Raven, when the demon asked if he'd join him and become a demon too. Why would the monsters want him? Was he a monster too? Is that why…

He looked to the ground, the world around him becoming oblivious to his thoughts. He was a monster wasn't he, but no one told him. Could it be he's actually a demon? It could explain why he was always picked on, why he has unbelievably bright red hair and sharp, pointy teeth. Also that would explain why he loves to see blood gushing from a being's body, spraying his face with crimson as he painted his victims in a beautiful shade of red. "… Why?" Grell suddenly said, getting the demons' attentions. "… Why me?" he looked up with a confused look on his face. He didn't care, he faced death before, but he wanted to know why demons were after him. "Why take me and leave everyone else alone? Why spare me? Why?"

The demon smirked, taking a few steps closer to the boy. Grell stood tall, looking up at the demon as he drew near, not taking any steps away as the others trembled fearfully behind him. "Why? _Why~~?_" He chuckled lowly, reaching out to touch Grell's face. The child narrowed his eyes and swatted his hand away, causing the demons standing around them to take a step closer and bare their teeth at the shinigami. "It's simple really. You see your family caused us _sooooo~_ much trouble in the past we couldn't possibly let the only living child get away. So what'll it be? Come with us and become one of our own or die here as the scum you are?"

Grell huffed, putting a hand on his hips and letting out a snort. "Do you _**really~ **_think I'd accept such an offer? Pesky, pathetic demons," he snickered lightly, his arms over his chest.

The demon kept the smirk on his face, but his eyes narrowed with a burning hatred for the boy. "Just like your father _I see~~_" he chuckled lowly, "and how delicious your father was when he fell to us. Oh and did I forget? Who was the other one we ate?"

"Ann –"

"Yes! That _delectable~_ shinigami called Anna. Oh how loud her scream was when we ate her –"

"Take that back!" Grell cried out, growling as he slashed the blade of his scythe at the demon.

In a flash the demon grabbed hold of the blade, a grin on his face as Grell glared at him through hardened shinigami green eyes. "I **knew** there's a fire in there," the demon chuckled, Grell snarling in frustration as the demon's grip on the scythe tightened and he tried to pry the weapon away from the boy's hands, "like the killer you are. Good." He laughed as he shoved the boy away, Grell yelping as he fell to the ground and almost let go of the scythe. "Just think what prestige I'll get once I've killed off the last Sutcliff!" The demon giggled, letting out a yell as he ran at the boy with his claws raised. Grell rose up his scythe, but knew it was pointless. The demon was sure to kill him, but boy he wasn't going to leave without putting some sort of a fight! He glanced over at the children one last time, sighing in relief once he saw that the door had opened and all but one was swiftly pulled into the door. Grell closed his eyes in acceptance of his new fate, preparing to die to the death as he pushed one claw away with the blade of the scythe and the other claw of the demon embedded itself into his chest. The boy let out a cry as he was lifted off of the ground and thrown through the air, shuddering in pain as he gripped his chest and felt blood spewing out of his skin. "_Now to end you~_" the demon laughed lowly, kicking the child in the stomach before kicking him over so his face was looking up at him.

"But sir, this wasn't part of the plan –"

"If we let this squirt live he could take us all down," the superior demon snarled, the other demon whimpering slightly and taking a cautious step back. "Don't you remember the pain his family caused us? Hell, it took me forever to take him down with one swoop! This isn't up for negotiation. The boy is going to die."

"But we could change him –"

"Even with a change a demon-shingiami boy is still a shinigami," the demon snorted, "and that's enough on the matter." Smashing into the boy's hand Grell let out a yell as he felt the joints in his carpals cracking away, his hand instantly letting go of the scythe. With smirk on his face the demon picked up the scythe, keeping the boy in place with his foot as Grell struggled to get free. "_Now, now, do you think I'd like my prey go so easily~?_" the demon taunted, the boy whimpering as he tried to shield his face from another blow. "What's the matter? Afraid for your life –"

"**No**," Grell huffed, flinching when the demon's weight suddenly stopped pressing down on him at the boy's response. "I don't care if I'll live, I just don't want to give my soul to a crazy, perverse demon like you! – AHHH, DAMN IT!" He cried out, the demon's foot crushing into his wrists before stepping firmly on his chest.

"You just don't know when to shut up, do you?" the demon snorted, bringing the blade up ready to strike. "Let's see how many pieces a shinigami will become before they finally die by their own blade," the demon laughed, throwing the scythe down and stabbing into the boy. Grell let out a cry as he felt his insides rip apart. It was different from the pain of a simple scratch, a vicious claw of a demon; he could feel his very life leaving his body by that simple stab in the chest. Fear overwhelm him and Grell fought to break free, but the demon wouldn't comply and stabbed him in the shoulder. "That's right cry! Cry like the weakling you are!" the demon taunted, throwing the scythe to the ground before grabbing the collar of Grell's shirt so they were seeing eye to eye. "**This is for everything your family has done and will ever do**," he growled in a low voice, throwing a punch to Grell's face as he stared at him through blank, shinigami green eyes.

Then his hand was suddenly caught, the demon looking up only to snarl at the presence that stopped him. "It's wrong to kill another's meal, don't you think, you pest?"

"Well, if it isn't little Michaelis, or is it Raven now? Oh my you seem to get yourself into a lot of trouble these days," the demon answered slyly back, but narrowed his eyes when he pushed the other demon's hand away and let go of the boy's body. Grell's body slumped to the ground, completely immobile and unable to register what was happening around him. "What's the high and mighty fallen archangel from the legion of Michael doing with a shinigami, huh?"

"The same reason you're here, little fallen archangel from the legion of Raphael, though you weren't really an archangel were you? So how come you're to command a group of weaklings, Rarpahel?" the other demon smirked, stepping to the demon so he'd step away from the child lying limp on the ground.

"Same reason you're down here," the demon called Rarpahel snorted.

The demon called Michaelis huffed, pulling off his large black scarf and casually tying it around his waist and out of the way from any injury. Fixing the buttons on his red collared shirt and buttoning the buttons on his black trench coat, he glared at the other demon through hardened red eyes. "It seems we're at an impasse."

"It seems so," Rarpahel huffed, fixing his clothing to make sure everything was tied together and in place. "As proper as ever, aren't you?"

"Of course," Michaelis smirked, pulling on his black gloves and making sure they were secure. "Why wouldn't I –"

"But I don't understand why a demon like yourself is defending the boy," Rarpahel snarled, pulling on his own gloves and making sure they were tight on his hands. "After all he will grow up to be a shinigami, a Sutcliff no less."

"For the same reason your friend over there explained," Michaelis chuckled, causing Rarpahel to narrow his eyes and growl. "_To make him mine~~_. After all with a Sutcliff on my side I'll easily take the rest of the humans from your greedy little hands. It's as easy as toppling an angel from their naive arrogance and causing them to fall."

The demon narrowed his eyes, his claws beginning to grow once again as he growled. "Fine I see how it is," Rarpahel huffed. "Just how did you get in here anyways?"

"That's for me to know and you to find out," Michaelis laughed, Rarpahel letting out a yell as he ran at the demon to strike. However Michaelis avoided his attacks and led the demon away from the courtyard, leaving Grell shuddering in pain as he tried to bring his elbows under his body and pull himself up.

"N-no," Grell snarled in pain, trying to pry himself up to his feet, "Anna… Anna!" He cried out, jumping to his feet as he held his bleeding shoulder with his limped hand. He looked up from where the demons had run off, his shinigami eyes burning in a green-yellow light of pure hatred. He couldn't think about his physical pains, the confusion to why Raven was here, why he was still moving, no… all Grell could think about was Anna. That she never really forgotten about him, but had disappeared off of the face of the earth by a, "_**demon~~**_" he spat as if venom spewed out of his mouth. Demons… demons! What did demons ever do for him?!... No… demons **did** do something for him… taught him how to hate them with such a burning passion that if he were to ever cross one's path ever again he would kill them by his own hands! He would rip off their talons and break their bones, he vowed quietly to himself. Then oddly enough he began to chuckle, crackle darkly as his eyes glared at the direction of the trail of blood the demons were leaving behind. "I'll kill you all," he giggled happily, the scythe covered in his own blood suddenly appearing in his working hand without Grell even noticing. "I'll kill you all!" he cried out, running as fast as he could down the road towards the demons that were casually walking about. He snarled as he hacked them apart, giving them no heed as his eyes was locked on one particular demon.

! #$%^&*()

Rarpahel laughed, the demons he had under his command swarming on Michaelis as he fought back. Demon blood flew through the air in a stream of blood, but the demon never got scratched. No, Michaelis was much more cutting and knew how to fend off the weaker demons. Rarpahel moved through the crowd and made a run down the road, Michaelis slicing his claws into a nearby demon before taking off for Rarpahel. "Coward," Michaelis smirked, running as fast as he could towards the demon. Then something odd happened.

Right beside him a red blur ran past him, as if the winds were carrying the creature through the air towards the demon in front of him. Michaelis didn't know what to say as the little shinigami boy let out an angry snarl, raising his scythe and hacking into the demon dashed down the road. Rarpahel let out a surprised cry, confused when the boy pounced on him and stuck the scythe into his back. "MURDERER! MURDERER! YOU FOUL BASTARD!" Grell cursed, leaving his scythe behind in the demon's back as he grabbed hold of his neck and tried to suffocate him.

"You guttersnipe!" Rarpahel snarled, grabbing hold of the back of the boy's shirt and tried to pry himself free, "Get off!"

"NEVER!" Grell cried out, clamping his sharp teeth down on the demon's flesh as he tried to break off his arm. Rarpahel yelled in pain and threw his back into a nearby wall, trying to get the boy to release his grasp. Grell wouldn't let go, he had no reason to. He wanted the demon dead.

Michaelis stood from the road, watching as the two creatures fought for dominance. One simply wanted to escape; the other wanted the creature dead. The demon couldn't help but smirk, a chuckle escaping his lips as the boy was successful in snapping and soon ripping the other demon's arm clean off from his body. "_Good~_" he chuckled lowly, "I'll make a demon out of you yet." Then he noticed movement, Michaelis' glowing red eyes narrowing at the houses and down the road as he saw his kind falling victim to various reaping instruments. "See you later, little reaper," he chuckled lowly, large black wings spanning out behind him as he took off into the sky.

"Get him!" one of the shinigami's yelled, a group of them jumping onto the houses as they tried to grab the escaping demon. The rest watched as the young shinigami ripped a demon apart, almost all of them petrified with alarm and wondering how a boy could do such a thing.

One shinigami, whom have lived much longer than most and wasn't flustered by such fearful and strange anomalies as this, stepped out of the ground with his large silver scythe by his side. He stopped a few feet away, watching as the boy began to break down and began to pound angrily on the demon's barely beating heart. "Anna… Anna!..." Grell clutched his fists as tears streamed down his face, barely able to see straight as his eyes came into contact with the demon's. "You bastard," he snarled in anger at the demon, "how could you?!"

Rarpahel laughed, earning a swift slap in the face by Grell's bloody hand. "You're all the same!" he laughed loudly, letting out a gasp as he felt his heart skipping a beat. "You shinigamis are the same as us!" he chuckled, Grell's eyes glaring at the demon as he coughed up blood and spat in the boy's face. "Your father and grandfather were nothing but maggots and your grandmother a pitiful slag," Rarpahel grabbed Grell's shirt and snarled, the boy staring at the demon with a blank expression on his face, "you're just as arrogant as they were and that'll be your downfall." Then Grell slapped him again with murder in his eyes, Rarpahel looking down at the ground and laughing insanely. "You're pathetic! You should have joined us! Now you're going to die! You'll die like the rest of them! Hah! – Ugh…" the demon gasped, looking down at his chest as he stared in horror and saw the boy's small hand embedded in his chest and stabbed his nails into his beating heart.

"I don't care about them," Grell snarled, the demon gasping as blood splattered out of his mouth. "I cared about Anna, you arsehole!" In one swift motion the boy ripped out the demon's heart, Rarpahel's eyes widening in shock as his body fell limp on the ground.

Grell looked at the heart in his hand, watching as it let out one last thud before he dropped to the ground and the organ bounced out of his hand and onto the ground. Noticing the boy had passed out the silver haired man quickly picked up the shinigami, leaving the scythe and the demon on the ground as he walked over them and clutched the boy to his chest. "U-undertaker," one of the shinigami's gasped, completely shocked by the events, "w-hat did it mean when it said we were the same as **it**?"

"Clean up this mess," Undertaker answered gruffly, causing the shinigamis to gulp, "and file your reports in by midnight tonight. Exterminate any demons still prowling in our domain and close off the barrier. We will continue investigations in the morning."

"Yes sir," they bowed, Undertaker giving them no heed as he carried the boy away and down the road.

Grell sniffled, surging pain running up and down his body. He could barely think, barely blink, and all he saw was a large black and gray shadow pick him up and carry him away. Tears streamed down his eyes. His chest hurt, his heart felt as if it was broken in two, and he wanted his sister. "A-anna…" he cried quietly to himself, tears dripping down his face as he was clutched firmly in the being's chest. He didn't want to fight anymore. He simply wanted to sleep… and dream of Anna one last time… and see her shining face once again…

! #$%^&*()

**A/N: Yes… Grell's life is pretty screwed up… but hey maybe things will get better? =O I don't know yet, but at least some explanations will be in order. And with the demons' names, they aren't exactly their first names but you could consider them surnames. So Michaelis and Rarpahel aren't their actual names, but surnames or last names. It shows whom they came from and who their leader is, or in this case, was. So the demon Michaelis came from the legion of Michael before he fell and the demon Rarpahel came from the legion of Raphael before he fell. Just an idea I came up with and that's how I saw Sebastian Michaelis' name being since his first name was given by Ciel and that angel Angela/Ash was the one that called him Michaelis… anyways that's enough of an explanation. If hoped you enjoyed this and I hope to write up another chapter soon! =D **

SCNinja: and yes, Sebastian is Raven. I've already said that at the bottom of one of my author notes ^^ though… I wouldn't say he's younger. He was a child because the guy he contracted to wanted him to be one and it was convenient to get Grell to corporate with the demon. That's all. So… yeah… Sebastian is much older, especially in this chapter. Before Sebastian was actually morphing into an older, adult form when his contract ended. In this chapter he's much older and probably the same sort of look you'd see in Kuroshitsuji ^^ so there you go (if you want to think of it like that ;3). I hope that answered your question =3

Gerald – German – "rule of the spear"; spear, rule


	19. The Rising Fright

Kuroshitsuji © Yana Toboso

OCs © reaper-of-lost-souls

Cirrus © Madame Grell

**A/N: Well now we see what's happened to the little tots ^^ Sorry if I haven't posted a chapter in a while. I've been working on my other story, to be perfectly honest. Also I haven't really thought about anything for this story… I have a bit of a writer's block when it comes to this story. Not to worry! There's still more ideas!... just need to find a way to make it interesting ^^' ENJOY!**

! #$%^&*()

"You have to let us in!" Cirrus cried out, trying to shove the much older and taller shinigami out of the way of the large white door. "We're his friends! You got to let us in!"

"Sorry," the shinigami said, keeping his stance firm as he shoved the child aside. "I am under strict orders to keep this door guarded till I am given a written order from the council themselves. This is something that cannot be questioned. Now run along."

"But what about my father –"

"You heard him Cirrus," William sighed, grabbing her hand and gently pulling her beside him. "You heard the man. He's not intelligent enough to know that if we simply talk to Grell he'll calm down," he glared at the older shinigami before turning and walking away, Cirrus blinking at William's insult before turning around and following behind him.

"But… what should we do now?" Cirrus frowned, William looking behind before letting out a tired sigh.

"Wait I suppose," he shrugged before grasping her hand, wiping the tears that began to stream down her face as she tried to hide her sadness with a sniffle. "Hey now," William tried to say in a comforting voice, though any voice he made seemed to carry a tired, monotone tone, "everything will be okay. Your father will be better and Grell will be back in school before we know it. We just have to hope –"

"Hope? Don't give me that William!" Cirrus snarled, pushing him away and wiping her own tears from her face. "You jerk! Why can't you see that shinigamis have died?! My father… h-he's not coming back. That's what the doctors said about my mother," she sniffled, rubbing her nose before looking up and glaring at the other child, "and how can you just think everything will be fine?! Huh!? It won't be –"

"I know," William interrupted her, glaring before he looked down to the ground sadly, "but… one can hope everything will be okay, right?"

"William…" Cirrus sighed, shaking her head and grabbing his shoulder. He looked up confused, Cirrus trying to give him a smile, but was very weak compared to the large grin she usually had on her face. "I have no one now… w-what am I supposed to do? It's only a matter of time till my father is dead… we saw him. They took him away and said he was a lost cause. I… I just… d-don't know…"

"… I don't think my father will mind if you stay with us," William gave her a slight smile, Cirrus looking up to see the slight crack in his mouth before it disappeared all together. "Besides, the orphanage is going to be closed. The adults don't want any children roaming around without an adult to protect them. You'll have to stay somewhere right? So why not with us?"

"Y-you?" Cirrus blinked before chuckling and continued to try to wipe the tears that she still felt upon her face. "Well… I-I guess… but Grell –"

"The same goes with Grell," William nodded in a reassuring tone, grasping her hand and pulling her down the hallway. "My father told me everything. The children who are living in the orphanage and have now become orphans will be given homes by shinigamis that can handle them. I asked my father specifically if we can have Grell and you stay with us till everything dies down, but my father says that he doesn't know about Grell. He says he will request you, but he doesn't know about Grell."

"Why not?" Cirrus frowned, pulling her hand away to walk side by side William as they casually made their way from the basement level where the hospital lie to the ground/first level where the shinigamis could enter and leave the large white facility.

After the current demon trespassers the security in the shinigami realm increased. The children and even the adults were being kept in the main shinigami buildings till all matters were resolve. Sadly for the students they were still forced to go to classes, which was probably a way to keep the children busy and out of the way for the adults to continue their operations. William sighed and closed his eyes, giving himself some moments to think. This would be one of the first times that he'd leave class without an explanation, but he had a reason. Grell saved his life after all, all of theirs… but if something happens to him William didn't know what he'd do. Would the council imprison him? Question him? Maybe make him a hero?... Who knows? "… I'll be honest," he let out a tired sigh, opening his eyes so he could see where he was walking, "I don't really know, nor does my father. No one seems to I suppose. The matter is being discussed within the council and no one has been able to catch wind on the situation. Only pieces. All I can overhear is that Grell is suspected for being the one who let the demons in. If something will happen to him… I don't know."

"But why?!" Cirrus snarled at the idea, fury in her eyes at the recent information. "He didn't do anything wrong! He saved us after all –"

"The council must think he knew of the invasion somehow or else he wouldn't have been able to know the demons' whereabouts so easily." Noticing this answer didn't suffice William pouted, turning his head and keeping his eyes on the walls. "Maybe they know information we don't. After all I have no idea how a demon can enter into our realm easily without a shinigami helping them inside –"

"Doesn't this realm have a place where the links to the human and the shinigami realms are weak?" Cirrus decided to comment, William looking over at her with sudden curiosity as she continued. "The… forest right? The woods and rolling hills away from the buildings? Grell told me this when we were out one day skipping class. He doesn't know where the break happens, but he said that he heard from Anna one time that if a shinigami moves through the forest they will eventually end up in the human realm, sometimes not even realizing it!"

"And he goes there all the time…" William realized, giving Cirrus a smile before opening a door that led them down a long, quiet hallway full of classrooms that the students that were close to graduating would have been using. "That must be it!" he exclaimed, his voice echoing down the hallway and causing Cirrus to step back startled. "It all makes sense now. Without even knowing it Grell probably opened the barrier between our worlds, but how long that has been going on is the mystery," William sighed, noticing they still didn't know everything they needed to know about the situation. "That must explain why the council wants to question him. After all he goes there all the time. For all they know he could be opening the barrier letting the demons in and this was all planned months before hand. He was gone for so long that no one really knows what happened to him, so it makes logical sense."

"… But there is someone whom Grell told me that knew all of his movements in the human realm," Cirrus thought aloud, William looking up at her slightly startled that she knew this information, but shrugging the idea off as he grasped the door their classmates were in and was about the turn the knob.

"And who's that?" he sighed, slowly opening the door to let her walk inside first.

"Undertaker, I think he called him," Cirrus told him, giving William a nod as she walked in first without noticing that William stared at her completely startled. William's hand let go of the doorknob in shock before he snapped himself out of his trance and rushed into the classroom, thinking to himself how stupid he was about not seeing everything sooner.

! #$%^&*()

)(*&^%$# !

… "_So what do you think?" Anna giggled as she twirled around in her long black skirt and straightened out her tie. "It was hard to get in the Dispatch Management Division, but I was able to since I told them that my papa was a great shinigami," she winked at the boy who looked up in awe at his older sister._

"_Yes… y-ou look good," he smiled, watching as she continued to fiddle around with her hair and clothes. She kept her bright, long red hair against her back, undecided if she'll put her hair up or not. "W-when will I see you?" Grell asked, looking down at the ground and trying to avert his gaze._

"_They're going to make me live with someone for a while," Anna explained, "for a few months. Six I believe, or one semester. Afterwards they said I'm free to buy my own apartment, so maybe in January then?" Then she sighed, crouching down next to the boy and running a comforting hand through his hair. "Grell look at me," she huffed, the little boy slowly looking up at her with concern on his face. "Don't worry I'll be fine," she chuckled happily. "… I will try to visit the school and orphanage when I'm not working. Perhaps once a week? I can't make promises yet. I don't know what the council will have me do and I can't assume they'll let me come here at all."_

_Grell nodded in understanding, biting on his bottom lip as he tried to hide back tears. Anna smiled, grabbing Grell in a tight hug and refusing to let him go. "Go to my graduation," she told him, "because I have a seat reserved just for you." She giggled and poked him on the nose and he snickered back. "But don't ever forget me baby brother," she smiled, "even if I die as papa did, I don't want you to forget me… I want to be remembered by someone."_

"_Yes big sister," he said with such confidence that she thought for a moment she was talking to her papa at that moment. "I won't. I will be just like you when I grow up. You'll see."_

"_Great!" she giggled happily, gripping him tightly before letting him go. "I have to go now. My examinations start in less than an hour and I have to get ready. I love you," Anna finished, giving Grell a wave as she began to walk down the road and leave the orphanage._

"_Bye Anna!" Grell waved, smiling widely as Anna looked back one last time. "I love you too!"_

"I-I love you…" Grell mumbled under his breath, his eyes opening suddenly before he groaned and quickly shut his eyes. The light was too bright in the room, the glare from the white walls making the room shine even more then it had to. Trying to get up he realized he was strapped down, his eyes widening in fear as he noticed his hand and feet were bound to the bed. "W-ha…" He narrowed his eyes, a wave of anger overwhelming him as he began to try to pry himself from the bounds, leaving all thoughts of his pains aside as he tried to free himself. "Let me go! Let me go!" Grell snarled, the bands slowly unwinding as his teeth gripped down on one of the restraints on his wrists and tried to break them apart. "Damn it, LET ME G –"

"Get a doctor!" He heard someone yell from outside the door, Grell pausing as he watched the shadows move back and forth before a hoard of shinigamis suddenly dashed into the room and grabbed the boy by his limps.

"HEY WHAT THE –"

"Get the anesthetic!" another shinigami cried, Grell's eyes widening as a needle suddenly appeared and was shoved into his arm.

"OUCH! What was that for –"

"Tighten the restraints. He can't be freed yet," a much calmer, older looking shinigami instructed the others, Grell's eyes beginning to flicker close as he tried to keep his sights on the being. "If he does this again he could damage his wounds. They won't heal properly if he tries to free himself again… " Wounds? Grell thought, letting out a groan as his eyelids closed and he quickly entered back into the realm of sleep and dreams.

)(*&^%$# !

! #$%^&*()

"The child should be punished –"

"If the sources are correct then the demons will prey upon us again for this one shinigami child –"

"Why? Never before can demons and shinigamis coexist with consequences –"

"The child is a Sutcliff," a rough voice came from the floor of the meeting hall, a man dressed in black staring up at the bickering shinigamis through his black glasses commented. "The demons are instantly drawn to his blood. Either he will become one of us or fall to them, it is up to the boy –"

"Then the child should die –"

"A shinigami child can't be killed so easily," one of the shinigamis sitting in a chair among the array of shinigamis explained. "They can't even be destroyed. We are all supernatural and you must remember what we are. Even if we die by our own blades our spirits will stay till the end of time. He cannot be killed by us. His spirit will haunt us forever. It will have to be another way."

"… But the child will ruin us all," another shinigami sighed. "His family may have been great, but he is not. He does not know his past and who is to say he will grow up to be like his father?"

"He can be imprisoned –"

"Chains won't cage a Sutcliff," the shinigami standing on the floor smirked, brushing away his long silver hair before staring back up at the group.

"That's true," a shinigami thought. "After all they are the descendents of a spirit in the southern cliffs. Families like those cannot be tamed, nature cannot be tamed. Death may come to nature, but life will always prosper in the end."

"Yet here we are," another shinigami chuckled, "deciding the boy's fate. He is still a child. He can grow up to be great or become a tragedy for our kind. Undertaker, what have you to say on the boy?"

"I say the child still has time to grow," Undertaker told them, taking a few steps towards them and looking up at the shinigamis above. "He has yet to know why demons are after him. Perhaps the explanation will do him some good. And for the record, wasn't his _own~ _father as wild as young Grell?" the being giggled lowly. "What is to say the boy won't grow to be like his father? His daughter held as much promise as the boy and they grew up together in the orphanage. Who's to say that the child doesn't already know his path?"

"That's right. Time will tell if the child is to be one among us. After all we gave his father a chance and his father's father a chance and so on."

"Who was the demon that escaped?" a shinigami asked, tilting his head to another as one of the beings pulled out a folder and read what was written down.

"A fallen archangel from the legion of Michael," the shinigami explained. "There are no other records on the demon's name, but he seems to be a shapeshifter and can morph into a black bird."

"Understandable," one commented. "A fallen archangel, an archdemon. He must have power and great influence in the human realm, yet there is no name to speak of. He will be tricky to catch. He already knows how to hide from us."

"Demons are _always~~_ tricky to catch," the Undertaker chuckled, "but none has been able to escape my grasp **yet**."

"And the demon that headed the operations here?" another asked, ignoring Undertaker's comment.

"Another fallen archangel, but he was from the legion of Raphael," a shinigami explained, flipping through a folder. "He was called Rarpahel, yet went by many various names. He is the demon who caused the deaths of many different shinigamis, but mainly the Sutcliff family. For example he was the one that killed Gerald Sutcliff I and II, killing Anna Sutcliff shortly after she became a full-fledged shinigami and almost killed the boy, Grell Sutcliff. His method was weakening the shinigami before stabbing them in the chest with their own blade."

"A demon that knows how to kill shinigamis. At least the being is dead –"

"But he may have taught others, which means the demons must know how to kill us."

"The demon that almost wiped out the Sutcliff family, but was ended by the youngest of them all. A little funny don't you think?" one of the shinigamis chuckled, the others not giving him a care as Undertaker snickered slightly into his black glove.

"Now what to do with the boy –"

"He is an orphan. Has no home. He should be taken into the care of a shinigami like all the rest –"

"Not just **any** shinigami," one of them huffed, "but one who can protect the boy from any prowling demons –"

"And also protect the boy from himself. If the boy is out of control he will have to be killed –"

"We should look into any candidates –"

"If _I~_ may say a word?" the shinigami standing on the ground spoke, all eyes turning down to him from on high as he continued with a smirk. "I knew the lad's father. He was an old student of mine from the academy. Put the child into my care and I will train him in the same ways I trained his father."

"Is that a good idea –"

"Well I don't see anyone else offering their services," one of the shinigamis crossed their arms over their chest and snorted.

"But Undertaker," one of them began, "you have never taken up an apprentice –"

"Not formally," Undertaker snickered, causing a few eyebrows to rise as others shook their heads, "but I know what his father has done and his forefathers. I know the boy's history. After all I have been in this world for eons now, even longer than almost all of your sitting here in this council. If you wish for the boy to prove himself he must be given the same opportunity as everyone else. Soon the child will be going to secondary school and begin formal training into becoming a full-fledged shinigami. He will need a mentor soon enough, so _why not I~?_" He cocked his head and gave them a smirk, a few of the shinigamis looking to each other as only a couple sighed.

"Yes," a shinigami sighed, "Undertaker is right. He would be the right candidate for the job –"

"Yet we usually don't select you because you say you're always _**'busy'**_," one of them snorted.

"I will find time," Undertaker told them to justify his actions. "After all I will need to tutor at least one shinigami before I can retire. Isn't that correct?"

"Correct –"

"Then it's settled," Undertaker huffed slightly, getting their attention. "I will take charge of the child and there will be no more questions on the matter. Now how will we conduct this new demon problem?"

"Secure the barrier back to full capacity and only let those who must reap souls in or out of the realm. All children will be confined to the buildings unless accompanied by a fellow adult shinigami. Make no mistakes. The demons may find a way back into our realm, and if they do we will plan a counter attack and use the destroyed buildings to our advantage."

! #$%^&*()

)(*&^%$# !

"_You shinigamis are the same as us!" a demon stood before Grell, his arms crossed over his chest as he laughed through his bloody canine teeth. "You're just as arrogant as they were and that'll be your downfall –"_

"_Shut up!" Grell cried out, throwing a fist at the creature as it vanished into a black smog and appeared behind the boy._

_He laughed, taunting the boy further as Grell snarled and threw another punch at the demon. "You're pathetic! You should have joined us! Now you're going to die! You'll die like the rest of them –"_

"_You're wrong! I'm not like you! Now leave me alone!" Grell cried again, pulling a small scythe from behind his back and slammed it into the creature. "Die! Die! You are worthless! Die!"_

_The demon simply laughed, disappearing into the smog and leaving Grell alone in the black smog. Grell began to shiver, rubbing his shoulders as a sudden gust blew through his body and chilled him to the bone. "Perhaps you're made to be a demon instead~" a voice hissed behind him, Grell's eyes widening as he turned around and stared in fear at the creature standing before him._

"_Raven," Grell sneered, the demon smirking as he took a step towards the boy._

_The demon chuckled, shaking his head as he tasseled his black raven hair to and fro before staring the boy down through hard red demon eyes. "Either you join our kind or we will come and kill you. Simple as that –"_

"_But why?!" Grell let out a cry, running at the demon as fast as he could and trying to strike him with his scythe. "Why me?! Of all shinigamis why me!? –"_

"_Your soul is simply delicious~" the demon smirked, grabbing Grell's chin and pulling him into a trance. "**Divine~~**. For a creature to be so powerful at such a young age is amusing. Haven't seen such promise since I was a lad," he chuckled, letting go of Grell's chin and watched as the boy stumbled backward and fell on the ground. "Nor do you realize the thin path you deciding to walk down, one going one way and another going another. One will bring you to mischief and laughter; the other will bring you down a path of chores and paperwork. So what'll it be? Join us and hold some esteem among us or stay with the reapers and die a boring and lifeless death?"_

_Grell blinked for a few moments, stumbling to his feet and wiping a trickle of blood that threatened to fall from the corner of his mouth. "I say~~" the boy smirked, poking the demon's chest before suddenly shoving him away, "that I'll decide my fate! Not you! No demon, no shinigami, will ever tell me what to do! I am Grell Sutcliff! I am Anna's brother, and I will find every single one of you who have slain her! And if that's you… watch out. I'm coming for you Raven." The boy finished off with a sneer, taking a few cautious steps backward and keeping his angry gaze on the demon._

_Raven simply chuckled, his arms holding his side as he laughed. "You're right to think that there are others. There are~, but I for one aren't one of those demons. Of course if you join us I'll tell you each and every one who has wronged you –"_

"_No," Grell huffed, "I will do everything myself. I don't need you and I've never needed anyone else. I don't need you!"_

"_Then –"_

"_No! Go away! YOU'RE NOT WANTED! LEAVE ME ALONE! I WILL TAKE CARE OF MYSELF! I! ME! I CAN TAKE CARE OF MYSELF! I DON'T NEED ANYONE! I NEED NO ONE! NO ONE! **NO ONE!**"_

Grell let out a gasp, his eyes widening as he looked up to stare at the plain whiteness of the ceiling above him. Realizing where he was the boy quickly calmed down, letting out a tired sigh as he looked down at his wrists and saw that they were still restrained. "I have to get out," he mumbled under his breath, slowly prying his hands out of the restrains and ripped the bounds from his legs once he was free. Grell groaned in pain, feeling his chest and then his shoulder wondering why his wounds haven't healed yet. If he had been asleep he should be better by now, right? Stumbling out of bed he noticed a white robe hanging from one of the chairs and wrapped it around his body, slipping on a pair of fuzzy white slippers before looking out the door and wondering what was going on.

He quickly realized where he was. He was in the infirmary in the restricted part of the building. Why he was in such a place Grell didn't particularly care, but all his mind told him to do was escape. Surely if they found he was awake they would drug him again. He didn't want that, so he had to find a way out. Sadly there were no windows so the only place he could go was through the door or an air duct… A smirk came to his lips as he slipped off the slippers and shoved them into the large robe pockets. Pushing a chair to a nearby air duct he took out the barrier using only his fingers and nails and set the metal object on the ground, careful not to alert anyone he was escaping. Then he slipped into the hole in the wall, crawling on his elbows and crouched down on his knees, trying to find a way out and leaving the infirmary behind him.

)(*&^%$# !

**A/N: You know, your idea of the council can be different from mine. I sort of made it up as I went along. In this story the council is a group of much older shinigamis who discuss everything like a democracy. The layout is like a judge room, where there's a place on the floor for the defendant and the accuser to debate while the judges sit on high podiums discussing among themselves the accusations. That sort of thing. So the council in this part of the story is like the judge and also the elected civilians that decide on a verdict for the accused. Just so you have a good idea of what was going on ^^ I don't know how old they are or how they're able to be on the council, but there you go. Is Undertaker part of the council? Honestly I don't know. Probably not ^^ Maybe he could have been asked to be part of them, maybe not. Up for interpretation I suppose ;D And I wonder why Undertaker requested Grell to live with him. Is there a reason to that? =O _I don't know~._ We'll just have to see ^^ SEE YOU LATER! And don't forget to comment! =D **


	20. The Unstable Certainty

Kuroshitsuji © Yana Toboso

OCs © reaper-of-lost-souls

**A/N: Hey guys! Long time no see, right? Sorry about that. It's just that I haven't been into the Kuroshitsuji fandom for a while and I ran into a wall in this story… dark writer's blocks DX Anyways it's almost New Years and since I haven't posted a chapter in about two months I decided to post the next chapter I have written. There's only one more chapter that I've written, but I don't think I finished that one. Now I plan on bringing Raven back that much is certain, but first I want some Undertaker and Grell bonding moments beforehand. Do you guys have any ideas on the matter? Because it could REALLY help me with getting this story going again ^^Well I think that's it. ENJOY!**

! #$%^&*()

Emerging from a bathroom Grell locked the door, letting out a tired sigh as he stared at himself in the mirror and frowned at the disgusting boy staring back at him. "Damn it. I have bags under my eyes," he huffed, looking around the room to see if there was anything he could use to fix himself up. Noticing a brush he combed out his hair, rummaging through the medicine cabinet and taking out bandages, gauze, and medical ointment for his wounds. Then he slipped off the clothes he was wearing, ever so slowly to see the damage that lay upon his soft boyish skin. He shuttered in disgust, noticing the large bandage that was wrapped tightly around his chest and wrapped around his shoulder. Luckily the wounds from the claws of the demons were almost healed, which made Grell wonder how long he was forced to be in that infirmary. Gently unwrapping the bandages he began to notice blood, wincing as he came to the last couple of layers and had to slowly pry the white bandages away from his skin. Then he let out a yelp, clutching his teeth as he pulled off the large cloth of gauze and stared at his wounds fully. He never knew a death scythe could do this to a shinigami, but the saying is true that there's nothing a death scythe can't cut, including reapers it seemed. Perhaps it was a good thing they weren't told that the scythes could do this to a shinigami. It would make many reapers fearful of being out in the field, that's for sure.

Finding a cloth he clogged the sink and filled it up with water, glad to see that there was plumbing connected to the bathroom. Dipping the cloth he began to clean his wounds, wincing as he touched his skin and attempted to scrap off the dried blood to see how terrible his wounds were from the scythe. What he saw made him frown. The wound was deep, which was why it was taking Grell long to heal. His shoulder had been stitched, though poorly it seemed, and his chest was left open, probably because of the blood. After all if there was all that blood that meant the doctors didn't even **try** to stitch his wounds. Did they want him to die? The first time he woke up they said something about tying him down **again**. _Again~?_ Was his body reacting to them and trying to leave on its own? That theory sounded weird to Grell, but hey he's encountered even stranger things in his short lifetime. Now that he was in his right off mind he'll have to stitch up his wounds, but looking at the cabinet there wasn't anything he could use to stitch himself together. Sighing he resorted in placing the ointment on his wounds, hoping to find string soon so he could get himself back together. Even so the stitching on his shoulder looked strained, that's probably why they tried to tie him up. Gently placing the glaze on his chest and shoulder he wrapped himself with the bandages, knowing he shouldn't stress his body as he tied the end of the bandage and looked at himself in the mirror.

Even with all the work he had done he still looked horrible. His body was covered in scars, many more recent then not. Grell wondered how long it would take for his chest to heal, pressing a finger on his bandages and wincing at the pain. It probably wasn't a good thing that he was able to grip through the pain, but he's felt worse… Grell believed. When his arm was infected that was one of the worst wounds he ever had, so this was nothing! He sighed. He knew he'd have to confront his own kind sooner or later. After all he simply couldn't walk into the human realm. He would be killed instantly that way. Pressing his face close to the mirror he noticed something. His eyes weren't the normal shinigami green colors anymore. His eyes were slowly turning yellow, the tinge of color in his eyes staying only in the corners of the bottom part of his eyes. It seemed to be permanent, another sigh escaping his lips as he moved away from the mirror and scratched his head. "Great," he mumbled under his breath, "another thing for the others to taunt me about."

Deciding the best thing to do now was to find some decent clothes and then leave, Grell slowly opened the door of the bathroom and looked into the next room. He smirked, his sharp teeth glittering in the light of the bathroom till he flipped the switch and began to walk inside. He had found himself in someone's living quarters, the being gone and probably working overtime after the whole demon incident. Looking around the room he was amazed by the décor that was in the room, much larger than the average quarters for a shinigami. There was the bed, a desk lined with scattered papers, book shelves with both book and oddly enough jars filled with organs and other strange things Grell didn't quite know what those were, but surprisingly there was a personal kitchen area with a fridge, cabinets, and a stove/oven area for cooking food. He knew in an instant he was in a supervisor's quarters, perhaps even more than a simple manager. After all, the shinigami that lived there took time and energy to make the room exactly how he wanted it. The walls were painted in gray instead of white and there were various picture frames and other items that lined the room. Going to the closed closet next to the bed Grell opened the doors to see its contents, the boy's eyes widening at the clothes in front of him. "Undertaker," the boy realized, noticing the same sort of large coat hung up at the top of the closet. Looking on the ground of the closet was where he found what he was looking for, several different pairs of suits that seemed discarded and weren't used anymore. He grabbed one black suit pants and a white collared shirt, knowing in an instant that they'd be too big for him. Regardless Grell put on the clothes, letting out a tired sigh once he had the clothes on and shuffled towards a nearby mirror.

He tucked in the shirt and rolled up his sleeves, rolling the bottoms of the pants so he wouldn't trip on the cloth. He slipped on his shoes and noticed that he didn't look **too** bad in the clothing, but he needed a little something else to complete the ensemble. Smirking he shuffled around till he found something red, which was hard to find in that living quarters with only grays and dark colors around the room. It was a small ribbon that fit around his neck, Grell tying the ribbon into a bow and smirking at his attire in the mirror. It wasn't the best looking outfit, but it would have to do. He found a brush and combed through his hair again, grabbing a hair tie and tying back his hair into a ponytail. "Good enough," he huffed, rushing back into the bathroom and remembering to unplug the sink. He frowned as he watched the bloody water drain down the pipe, sighing to see his own blood disappear without a trace before walking into the main room and opening the door. He noticed that no one was around and gently closed the door behind him, hoping no one would catch him, especially that old geezer, and he'd have time to think to himself.

! #$%^&*()

Grell kept his head down, walking down the hallway as if he was just another adult. They didn't seem to notice him as they were all off to their own little errands for the day, the boy walking out the door only to find that the sky was getting cloudy. Typical England weather. One minute everything would be sunny and the next it would be cloudy. Of course Grell didn't even know how long he was stuck in the infirmary, but he thought it couldn't be too long. The boy had to be honest; he didn't want to go back. Mainly because the doctors would drug him and he didn't like being bound to the bed. He had so many questions running through his mind, but he was too tired to answer any of them right now. He only wanted to find his bag and be done with everything, walking down the road and looking at the devastation that lined the road. From where he was Grell could tell he was in the main buildings and it seemed that's where all the shinigamis were relocated to. No one wanted to be out on the streets and if they were it was for business reasons. No one was home; no one was around to torment him. Buildings and homes had been destroyed during the invasion, blood lining the walls of even the places that were still intact. The air was still strong with blood, mixes of demon and shinigami blood filled in the air. The boy couldn't help but smirk. He so loved the smell of blood in the morning.

The boy took his time to get to the primary school building, walking past the secondary school building and several other sites along the way. He noticed the building where he saw a child die, where he had killed the head demon. That's probably why the shinigamis bound him. Grell had lost the last portion of his memory after that point. All he had in his mind was revenge, but even as he killed the demon he didn't feel complete. He still felt empty, all his energy drained from him as he came to the school he was aiming for. Grell smirked, his bag left where he had laid it. He grabbed the bag and looked at its contents, letting out a relieved sigh to find that his stuff was all there, even his doll. "Anna…" he thought aloud, barely noticing that a tear was falling down his cheek till it dropped from his chin and hit his hand. Sniffling, he quickly wiped the tear away and slung the bag over his shoulder, looking up to notice that it was going to rain again. He didn't have time to get back to the main white buildings and the boy knew he shouldn't run around the realm in the rain because of his injuries. So Grell decided it would be best to stay under the shelter of the building, sitting down on the ground and watching as the storm began overhead. He smiled. Grell could remember the times he was with Anna and they would sit under the shade of a building, staring up at the sky as the storms began overhead.

Anna always loved to dance in the rain, letting the water drip down her face and make her all wet. Grell loved dancing in the rain too, but he mainly loved the color of blood more. In the back of his mind the boy knew he had a thrill ripping the demons apart and killing the disgusting creature that killed his sister, but the feeling frightened him. Were they right? Was he like them? Grell honestly didn't know, nor did he really care. He only felt numb, sad that Anna was truly never going to come back for him. Perhaps one day when he died, but not now. As the rain began to pour Grell didn't even notice that he was crying, water dripping down from above and hitting him every once in a while on the head. He couldn't help himself. He was so sad and very confused. Was he truly a Sutcliff? If so what did that entail? The demons were going through great lengths to get a hold of him and Grell didn't know why. Apparently he smelled like one, a Sutcliff, which made the boy confused. Just why did they want him? Could it be a reason why he was placed in the orphanage, to avoid harm? According to Anna that wasn't the case, but Grell wished it was. He wished he had a father, a mother, and siblings to call his own, but he never will. He knows that. Now that Anna is gone the boy knew the dream he had with her was completely gone, vanished from existence and will never be true in his lifetime. He sniffled, wiping a few tears as more replaced them and streamed down his face. He could never be truly happy, especially after feeling companionship and comfort from Anna. Before he didn't need anyone, but after Anna he's felt numb. Now everything was worse. He didn't have any more hopes or dreams… he was a lifeless shell of a cold shinigami. He truly had nothing to live for now… no goals to aim for or reasons to hope. He had no love, no family, and everyone hated or seemed to fear him. He was worthless, he was nothing, and the boy knew he will always be nothing… forever alone…

"Anna…" He sniffled, burying his head in between his knees. Grell wondered if there were cases of a reaper's heart ripping into two. The boy certainly felt it, clutching his chest as his quiet sobs began to echo in the abandoned building. He grabbed his doll and clutched it to his chest, wishing the doll was the real Anna and she could talk to him and make him feel better. He wanted to know everything, understand who she really was and how his father was like. Did she know her grandparents? What would his life be like with her family? Should he truly be afraid of himself? Should he cause others to be afraid of him? The boy sniffled, burying his head into the doll's chest. It didn't matter anyways, Grell realized. He just wanted to know what was going on –

"_My, my~_. What's the little shinigami boy doing out here, _I wonder~_?" Grell sniffled and looked up, the man's aura seeming unthreatening to him as he stared at the adult shinigami through saddened, bright shinigami green and yellow eyes.

"What do you want Undertaker?" the boy asked, the shinigami chuckling as he leaned against his large silver scythe and stared down at Grell with a devious grin on his face.

"Wondering where you ran off to. Did you know the infirmary is in an uproar after you left?" Undertaker smirked, "barmy fools." He finished with a quick mumble and snorted under his breath.

"I could care less," Grell huffed, burying his head back between his knees and began to shiver from the cold.

"_Now~_ you mustn't be so cold. Here this can warm you up," the man said, throwing a large jacket on Grell's shoulders and on the top of his head to avoid the raindrops that dripped down from the leaking roof. The boy looked at the Undertaker astonished, while the man simply shrugged and walked under the shelter of the building.

The man let out a sigh and sat down, his scythe dissolving between his fingertips as he kept a grin on his face and looked up to the sky. "Isn't the sky beautiful today?" Undertaker sighed happily, Grell looking over at him before glancing up at the sky.

"… Yeah," the boy thought aloud, "I-it's good."

"… Are you troubled?" the man decided to ask.

"No!" Grell snorted and growled at the man, but noticing a green gleam underneath the Undertaker's glasses the boy paused, sighing as he slumped back down and looked to his knees. "… Yes…"

"Would you like to talk?" Undertaker decided to ask, watching as the boy began to run his fingers through the doll's long red locks.

"… I don't think you can help," Grell let out a tried sigh, noticing how sleepy he was becoming. "I… don't even know what's wrong myself… and I don't want to talk about it."

"Fine," the man nodded, looking back up to the sky, "but just so you know, if you don't get stitched up soon you'll bleed out all over the floor. You don't want that, _do you~?_"

Grell looked down at his chest and noticed that the blood was seeping through the clothes he wore, looking up at the grinning man before shaking his head and letting out a huff. "The doctors didn't help. They just drugged me," he snorted, "and they didn't stitch my shoulder correctly. I'll just do it myself I guess… they never help me anyways."

"A child shouldn't worry about those matters except to get better," Undertaker huffed, "and to think they've been drugging you. I'm sorry for their manner to you young Sutcliff."

"Whatever," Grell shrugged, though he did find the apology flattering, even though the man probably couldn't do anything on the matter. "… How did you know I was here?"

"I heard you crying," Undertaker answered simply, causing Grell to frown, "but I was also here on a quick errand. There were a few papers I had to gather that were left behind."

"I thought you had more… enduring jobs then just being an errand boy," the boy snorted with a smirk on his face.

The Undertaker smirked back, interested on where this was going. "Well my boy, I do more than just run around acting as a high and mighty legendary shinigami. I also have work to do like everyone else and sometimes the work isn't as thrilling as others, but if someone doesn't do the little jobs then the work doesn't get done. Plus I didn't want to be around a bunch of overworked shinigamis who snap at any sound they hear. I needed a break."

"Wow," Grell thought aloud, "what's been going on?"

"The council ordered the barrier to the human realm to be strengthened. The children are being kept in the main buildings and are only allowed to leave if escorted by an adult. Everyone is sleeping in the buildings that haven't been affected by the demon invasion and schooling has commenced after two days since the problem," Undertaker explained, the boy blinking at him before he coughed in his sleeve. The man smirked, looking out at the broken playground and the road that led out of the courtyard. "You have been asleep for a couple of weeks and classes started last week in Building C. All orphans have been given homes and are required to live with their caretakers until the problem is under control. So give or take another few weeks, depending on what the council thinks."

"Oh," Grell sighed, "but if that's true… who am I paired with? What about Cirrus? W-what happened to her father?"

"He's in critical condition and I know he won't make it," Undertaker told the boy, Grell frowning at the new information. "Sadly the doctors won't let anyone into the infirmary and little Cirrus hasn't been able to see her father. The council doesn't want anyone to go in unless they have a signed document. They believe the shinigamis may know one thing or another and can't risk information being leaked out to the population."

"How many more days?" the boy asked.

"About four," Undertaker told the boy.

"… I don't care what the council says," Grell huffed, "I'll get Cirrus in to see her father." The man chuckled amusingly at the boy's sudden disregard of the rules, Grell looking up at Undertaker with a worried look on his face, "W-what are you going to make me do now?"

"Whatever you want," the man answered with a shrug.

"… Then I'm not going back to the infirmary," Grell said, "but… I don't even know who I'm supposed to stay with… I hope it's not someone who will hurt me."

"I doubt that," the Undertaker chuckled.

"So who?" Grell decided to ask.

"How about we go back to the buildings and I can tell you when we get to my office," Undertaker told the boy, standing up and offering a hand for Grell to grab. "I'll fix those wounds of yours and make you a pot of tea."

"But you're a legend!" Grell suddenly said, jumping to his own feet, but soon staggering to the wall and leaning for support. He let out a few soft pants, realizing the pain in his chest was a lot worse than he thought. The boy crouched down and gathered his things, but he had to use the wall for support. Against the boy's request Undertaker suddenly wrapped his arms around the boy, helping him to his feet before giving him a gentle pat on the back. "T-thank you –"

"Legend or not if you insist on not returning to the infirmary you'll need your wounds treated. _Besides~_ I'm an expert in the medical fields. I bet that's not something you've heard about me in those little text books of yours," the man winked, a chuckle escaping his throat as he rested an arm on the boy's back and began to usher him down the road. "Now come. The presence of demons still linger in the air," the Undertaker told him, Grell looking at the man uneasy before shaking his head and accepting the man's help.

! #$%^&*()

**A/N: I forget to mention that I'll answer the comments you sent me earlier later in the day (since I'm writing this at 1am in the morning and need to get to bed =O) If you have any questions or comments don't be afraid to talk to me. And I hope you guys have a great New Years Day. You can think of this as a late Christmas gift or just another chapter. Whatever. Well I'll talk to you the next time I suppose. SEE YOU LATER!**


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